HVZ12 T25 HnU QJoUege of 5^gticultute CHILD W£JLFARE IN TENNESSEE -ut An InCluiry by the National Child L^or Cpmmittee for the Tennessee Clild Well&re Comkiiss^ UNDES THE DIRECTION OF EDWARD N. ClsiiPPER, Ph. D. ; l^BLlSHED BY STATE OP TiNNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION , ALBERT WILLIAMS, STJPT. PRINTINO DEPABTHBNT TEalNESSBB, INDUSTBIAL SCHOOL f ' ■ ,.■■ NASHVII^' IP Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002408684 CHILD WELFARE IN TENNESSEE An Inquiry by the National Child Labor Committee for the Tennessee Child Welfare Commission UNDER THE DIRECTION OF EDWARD N. CLOPPER, Ph. D. TENNESSEE CHILD WELFARE COMMISSION Appointed by Gov. A. H. Roberts, January, 1920 ALBERT WILLIAMS, President C. C. MENZLER. SECRETARY MRS. JOHN HILL EAKIN, Vice President DR. H. A. MORGAN, Vice Presit)BNT MILTON S. BINSWANGER, Vice PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DR. OLIN WEST MRS. EUGENE CRUTCHER MRS. CLAUDE D. SULLIVAN MEMBERS JUDGE E. G. STOOKSBURY DR. J. H. KIRKLAND MRS. T. F. KELLY MRS. MINNIE A. WELCH DR. F. M. McRAE MRS. F. L. UNDERWOOD J. P. KRANZ DR. THEO. W. GLOCKBR JOHN W. FRY DR. F. A. Mckenzie r. f. hudson MISS CHARL O. WILLIAMS F. E. MYERS State of Tennessee Executive Chamber Nashville January 14, 1920. Mr. Owen R. Lovejoy, National Child Labor Committee, 105 E. 22nd Street, New York, N. Y. My Dear Sir: I am pleased to extend to your Committee a cordial invi- tation to come into the State for the purpose of making a survey of child life. I recognize the importance of the knowledge of definite facts and conditions with reference to children in a great commonwealth like ours and I am pleased to know that your Committee is willing and able to make a survey that will be thorough, comprehensive and complete with refer- ence to the child life of our State, and I join in the invita- tion with the various Department Executives of the state who have requested your Committee to do this work for us, and I assure you the cordial co-operation of every state offi- cial and department and express the hope that the survey may be of lasting benefit to the Great State of Tennessee. Yours very truly, (Signed) A. H. ROBERTS, Governor. CONTENTS Introduction ^ Edward N. Clopper CHAPTER I. The Child and the State W. H. Swift CHAPTER H. Health H. H. Mitchell, M. D. CHAPTER HI. Schools Gertrude H. Folks CHAPTER IV. Recreation 1 Raymond G. Fuller CHAPTER V. Rural Life Charles E. Gibbons CHAPTER VI. Child Labor Mrs. Mary H Mitchell CHAPTER VII. Juvenile Courts Mabel Brown Ellis CHAPTER VIII. Mothers' Pensions Mabel Brown Ellis CHAPTER IX. Institutions Sara A. Brown CHAPTER X. Home Finding Sara A. Brown INTRODUCTION BY EDWAKD N. CLOPPER Child welfare is community welfare, for whatever is done for the well-being of children benefits the community as a whole. On these selfish grounds, at lea^t, it is reasonable to expect a community to safeguard and to promote the in- terests of its boys and girls; if not on the more altruistic grounds of service, for the sake of the children themselves. To the casual observer Tennessee as a community appears to be singularly unmindful of its children's needs ; the people are independent in their thinking and action, and on the sur- face parents seem still to be protected by public opinion in the exercise of complete control over their offspring. The fact is that the people of Tennessee, like any other intelligent people want the best there is for their children. They want it, but they don't know how to get it. They are not particular as to the method of providing advantages for their children so long as the rights of all are respected — ^if they are provided through individual initiative, well and good; if through community initiative, equally well and good. They are ready to make sacrifices and to adapt their thinking to meet the needs of the situation whenever these needs are made clear to them. The undeveloped state of public welfare work in Tennessee is due not to indifference nor to any individualistic turn of mind, but simply to lack of knowledge of just what should be done and of how it should be done. At present there is no difinite program, no planned and purposeful effort — only a groping in the dark. When public opinion is blind to the developmental functions of public office, the quality of public service is bound to be low. It is not that public opinion in Tennessee is content with poor laws, poorly administered; it does not know how to improve them. 8 Child Welfare in Tennessee Under modern conditions individual initiative alone can- not be relied upon as a means to secure the general wel- fare. It is no longer effective, for the odds againts it are too great. The ordinary family, single-handed, cannot fully protect its children's health; nor fully assure their schooling; nor fully control their work; nor fully provide for their recreation ; nor, if they are in any way defective or unmanageable, can it fully supply the special training they require. It is only as individuals pool their initiative, so to speak, and develop community initiative that a force suffici- ently powerful to deal with modern conditions is created. The program for child welfare outlined in this volume depends for its realization upon community action ; and if Tennessee is to adopt this program, it remains for her to encourage the co-operation of all her citizens in the devoilopment of community initiative and the support of community effort. The community and not the individual parent is now pri- marily responsible for the health, schooling, recreation, work, protection, care, and training of children because it is more competent to control conditions and thefreby to make possible the satisfaction of these needs than any of the families of which it consists. This fact must be recognized and written into the life of the people by conferring upon the community such powers and by entrusting to it such duties as will en- able it to serve the people completely, just as theoretically it is supposed to do. Only the people themselves can bring this about. It should not and, indeed, cannot be imposed upon them from without, for it lies in the normal growth of the people themselves into a co-operative body acting in the interests of all. This study of conditions affecting the welfare of children in Tennessee was undertaken by the National Child Labor Committee in January, 1920, upon the invitation of Governor Roberts, the heads of the State departments of health, education, charities, agriculture, and factory inspection, and the University of Tennessee. It has been carried on under the auspices of the Tennessee Child Welfare Commission appointed by Governor Roberts and including among its members representatives of the State departments dealing Introduction 9 with children, of the University of Tennessee, of the juvenile courts, and of the leading private educational and child- caring institutions, societies, and organizations. Of this Commission Mr. Albert Williams, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, is president, and Mr. C. C. Menzler, Secretary of the Board of State Charities, is secretary. Throughout its progress the inquiry has been marked by a fine spirit of co-operation among all the public and private agencies concerned and by admirable steadfastness of purpose in seeking the best there is to be had for the boys and girls of the State. The nine agents of the National Child Labor Committee who have carried on this study and who here submit their reports, have been inspired at every step by the earnest and genuine desire of the people of Tennessee for better things, and venture to hope that this volume may have some part, however humble, in bringing these things to pass. Children are helpless, and the highest privilege of their elders is to care for them. They are at once our charges and our friends. They look to their protectors, the men and women of the State, serenely confident that, no matter how dark the outlook and no matter how dreary the task, they will ever be moved by the same spirit that filled the soul of Sam Davis, their noble fellow-Tennesseean, when he went to his death declaring: "I would die a thousand times before I would betray a friend." CHAPTER I THE CHILD AND THE STATE BY W. H. SWIFT About all that any one who seeks to make life better for all the children of a State can do is to give information to the people. However bad conditions may be, there is no hope for much improvment until the folk decide that they want a better state. This decision always comes, if it comes at all, as a result of learning what the situation is. Therefore this chapter is written, primarily, for the pur- pose of showing to the citizens of Tennessee, and to such other persons as may be interested, what the State promises and undertakes to do for the welfare of its children; and, secondarily, to suggest such changes and improvements in both the law and the legal agencies as seem to be not only wise but necessary. Note the word "suggest." I do not under- take to tell the people of Tennessee just what they ought to do and just how to do it. They should and must decide that themselves. I simply suggest. Tennessee accepts the care of her children as a part of her policy. This is expressly declared in the constitution as to education,' and lies by inference in that document with respect to every other branch of child welfare. Numerous laws and scores of legal agents duly authorized to make these laws effective show a general acceptance of this policy. The State is now engaged in the business of caring for chil- dren. To what extent? The average citizen would like to know: what duties are imposed upon him by law with respect to his child, what 1 Const. Art. 11, Sec. 12. 12 Child Welfare in Tennessee are his rights in his child, what aid he may reasonably ex- pect from the State in caring for his child, and what will be done when any unusual conditions arise in the life of any child. These questions are of vital importance, not only to parents, but to all citizens, and should be answered. This is an attempt to answer them. THE NORMAL CHILD In order to make the whole matter as clear as possible, let us follow a normal child from the time of his birth until he arrives at majority,' when he ceases to be a child. Then let us make a child subject to the leading contingencies of a child's life. By this method we shall learn not only what legal agencies are brought into activity to insure and pro- mote the care and development of normal children, but what is done or may reasonably be expected to be done for the child unusually circumstanced. Marriage . — We have said that we will follow a child from the time of his birth, but for a complete grasp of the life of our child we must go somewhat back of his birth. The mar- riage of his parents is perhaps a good starting point for our study ; for it will be conceded by all that the fact of mar- riage, and the laws regulating marriage, do condition the lives of children. Marriage with a lineal ancestor or descendent, with a lin,eal ancestor of either parent, with the child of a grandparent, with the lineal descendant of a husband or wife, or with the husband or wife of a lineal descendant thereof is for- bidden.' It is a felony to marry or have sexual intercourse within these degrees of kinship.' A white person may not marry one with negro blood to the third generation;' and any such attempted marriage is not only void, but the parties are guilty of a felony.* Legal consent of both parties is essential. A marriage procured by force or fraud, or when one of the parties had not sufficient understanding, may be set aside. It is felony to compel a woman to marry or to be defiled.' A second IS. C. 418B. 2S. C. 6557, 8, 9. 'S. C. 4186. *S. C. 4187. »S. C. 6460. The Child and The State 18 marriage may not be contracted before the dissolution of the first; but if either party is absent for five years, and not known by the other to be Hving, that other may marry.' Bigamy is a felony,' and it is also a felony knowingly to marry the husband or wife of another." A bigamous mar- riage is void. Only the persons authorized by law may solemnize a mar- riage;* and in no case may a marriage be solemnized with- out a license issued by the clerk of the court of the county where the female resides, or of the county of solemnization.* Neither of the parties is required to appear before the clerk. Any one may make application for the license, but a bond to guarantee that the parties may legally marry is required.' This is frequently refei-red to as a "straw" bond. Marriage without license and lawful solemnization is void;' but, except in cases of bigamy and criminal conver- sation, marriage may be presumed from cohabitation and reputation. He who has held a woman out for years as his wife will not be permitted to deny marriage, and this rule applies to his personal representative.' If proper consent is first obtained, the age of legal con- sent to a contract of marriage is, for boys 14, for girls 12 years. A marriage by a boy under 14 or a girl under 12 is voidable ; but it may be ratified by cohabitation after arrival at the age of consent, which finally consummates the mar- riage, and thereafter may not be disaffirmed by an infant.' The general rule is that marriages are voidable only, and may not be set aside except, by decree of court ; and voidable marriages are set aside only at the instance of the party aggrieved, and never at the instance of a third party." No license for a child under 18 years of age to marry may be issued unless the written consent of the father or, if he be dead, of the mother or guardian is filed." It is a crime for any clerk to issue a license for a child under 18 without the required consent, and for any person to sign or use any false permission." 1 S. C. 4188. 2 S. C. 6760. ^ s. C. 6763. ^ S. C. 4189. s s. C. 4191. 6 S. C. 4192. "i 1 Yer. 177. » 7 Gates 12; 1 Cold, 626. ^ 5 Sneed 659. 10 2 Swan 231. " S. C. 4192 as amended by Chapter 156, 1919. 12 S. C. 4192 a-3. 12 Child Welfare in Tennessee are his rights in his child, what aid he may reasonably ex- pect from the State in caring for his child, and what will be done when any unusual conditions arise in the life of any child. These questions are of vital importance, not only to parents, but to all citizens, and should be answered. This is an attempt to answer them. THE NORMAL CHILD In order to make the whole matter as clear as possible, let us follow a normal child from the time of his birth until he arrives at majority; when he ceases to be a child. Then let us make a child subject to the leading contingencies of a child's life. By this method we shall learn not only what legal agencies are brought into activity to insure and pro- mote the care and development of normal children, but what is done or may reasonably be expected to be done for the child unusually circumstanced. Marriage . — We have said that we will follow a child from the time of his birth, but for a complete grasp of the life of our child we must go somewhat back of his birth. The mar- riage of his parents is perhaps a good starting point for our study; for it will be conceded by all that the fact of mar- riage, and the laws regulating marriage, do condition the lives of children. Marriage with a lineal ancestor or descendant, with a lin,eal ancestor of either parent, with the child of a grandparent, with the lineal descendant of a husband or wife, or with the husband or wife of a lineal descendant thereof is for- bidden.' It is a felony to marry or have sexual intercourse within these degrees of kinship.' A white person may not marry one with negro blood to the third generation;' and any such attempted marriage is not only void, but the parties are guilty of a felony.' Legal consent of both parties is essential. A marriage procured by force or fraud, or when one of the parties had not sufficient understanding, may be set aside. It is felony to compel a woman to marry or to be defiled." A second IS. C. 4185. 2S. C. 6557, 8, 9. ^S. C. 4186. «S. C. 4187. 'S. C. 6460. The Child and The State 18 marriage may not be contracted before the dissolution of the first; but if either party is absent for five years, and not known by the other to be living, that other may marry/ Bigamy is a felony,' and it is also a felony knowingly to marry the husband or wife of another." A bigamous mar- riage is void. Only the persons authorized by law may solemnize a mar- riage;' and in no case may a marriage be solemnized with- out a license issued by the clerk of the court of the county where the female resides, or of the county of solemnization.* Neither of the parties is required to appear before the clerk. Any one may make application for the license, but a bond to guarantee that the parties may legally marry is required.' This is frequently referred to as a "straw" bond. Marriage without license and lawful solemnization is void;' but, except in cases of bigamy and criminal conver- sation, marriage may be presumed from cohabitation and reputation. He who has held a woman out for years as his wife will not be permitted to deny marriage, and this rule applies to his personal representative." If proper consent is first obtained, the age of legal con- sent to a contract of marriage is, for boys 14, for girls 12 years. A marriage by a boy under 14 or a girl under 12 is voidable ; but it may be ratified by cohabitation after arrival at the age of consent, which finally consummates the mar- riage, and thereafter may not be disaffirmed by an infant." The general rule is that marriages are voidable only, and may not be set aside except, by decree of court ; and voidable marriages are set aside only at the instance of the party aggrieved, and never at the instance of a third party." No license for a child under 18 years of age to marry may be issued unless the written consent of the father or, if he be dead, of the mother or guardian is filed." It is a crime for any clerk to issue a license for a child under 18 without the required, consent, and for any person to sign or use any false permission."" 1 S. C. 4188. 2 s. C. 6760. ^ S. C. 6763. * S. C. 4189. ^ s. C. 4191. 8 S. C. 4192. 7 1 Yer. 177. s 7 Cates 12; 1 Cold, 626. " 5 Sneed 659. 10 2 Swan 231, " S. C. 4192 as amended by Chapter 156, 1919. " S. C. 4192 a-3. 14 Child Welfare in Tennessee No action will lie against an infant for breach of promise to marry; but the next friend or guardian of an infant may- bring suit against an adult for the breach of a promise of marriage made to the infant/ A married man who holds himself out to be unmarried may be held to answer in dam- ages for breach of promise, and this even if the woman does not break off with him after discovering the truth." an action will not lie for the breach of a promise of marriage made in consideration of sexual intercourse, or made to a woman wlio was unchaste without the knowledge of the man promising ;' but unchasity, if the man knew it, is no defense, and sexual intercourse granted because of previous promise of marriage made for the purpose of securing such intercourse does not defeat the action. Seduction or attempt to seduce may be shown in aggravation of damages.* As one reads this part of the law of Tennessee he is strongly impressed by the following facts : a. That the age at which children with consent of par- ents may marry is exceedingly low ; b. That no notice that the parties are about to marry ia required. c. That the parties are not required to appear in person before the clerk to answer questions ; d. That feeble-minded or diseased persons are not pre- vented from marrying. These mean that the marriage laws should be amended. For consideration, it is suggested: 1. That the age at which children may with consent marry is entirely too low. Even when the mother knows better than to approve the marriage of her girl only 12 years of age, she is powerless. The consent of the father, if he is simple enough to give it, is sufficient. Children under 21 years of age are not allowed to contract their real property. A contract of marriage is just as important, and all parents and guardians are not wise. Only recently a county judge 1 5 Sneed 669. 2 1 Heis. 368. » 1 Head. 209. • 20 Pickle 361. The Child and The State 15 in Tennessee intervened to have the marriage of a child to which the mother consented set aside. As long as young children are permitted to enter into contracts of marriage they will not be held sacred, and this may account in some measure for the excess of divorces. The age for marriage should be made 18 for boys and 16 for girls. 2. That at least five days' public notice that the parties are about to apply for license to marry be required. This would add to the dignity of the contract and save some women from humiliation. In special cases this might be waived by order of the judge of the juvenile court. 3. That the method of granting the license be improved. The law fixes no physical standards. A man afflicted with the vilest venereal disease may marry the purest woman. One or both parties may be feeble-minded. The fact of dis- ease or feeble-mindedness probably would be brought to the attention of the clerk if both parties were required to appear before him and if the community had notice that a license was to be applied for. The license should be granted only after the parties have answered under oath such questions as will show that they may legally marry. These questions, with answers, should be made a part of the license. It should be a crime for any one with a venereal disease to marry, and no one who is fee- ble-minded should be allowed to marry. The propagation of mentally unfit children should be checked, and the wreck- ing the health of wives by venereal disease contracted from their husbands should be stopped. The State is not blind or ignorant. It knows that disease and defectiveness produce their kind. Why sanction marriages that should be forbidden? Husband and Wife . — The consummation of the marriage contract creates the relation of husband and wife. By the fact of marriage the husband acquires certain rights with respect to his wife and her property ; but it is not necessary to go into these, since they are rights of a husband and not primarily for the benefit of children. On the other hand, many of the rights of a wife with respect to her husband 16 Child Welfare in Tennessee are based upon the fact that she is or may be the mother of children. Wifehood and motherhood run together in law as in nature. The State expects a man to support his wife, if he is able, regardless of her ability to support herself or to get support from her relatives or friends.' It is a misdemeanor for a hus- band to abandon his wife without good cause or to fail to sup- port her ;" and it is a felony for a husband who has abandoned his wife with intent to leave her destitute, to leave the State." Juvenile courts have jurisdiction to hear the case and to fix such sums as are to be paid to the wife only when there is a plea of "guilty.'" If there is a plea of "not guilty," all the juvenile court can do is to bind over to the circuit court, which, if the accused is found to be guilty, may fix the amount to be paid for the support of the wife for one year.' There is a provision that one-half of the proceeds of the labor of a man imprisoned in a workhouse shall go to his wife and children, but this probably applies to municipal work- houses only.° Inquiry was made, but no case was found where any money was being paid by the State, county, or ifiunicipality for the benefit of the wife or children of an imprisoned man. Chapter 119, Acts of 1919, authorizes any county court to make small payments to a mother and a child or children under 15 years of age when the father is dead or confined in the penitentiary.' This act is clearly meant to be for the benefit of children rather than wives ; but as a matter of fact, it is of but little benefit to anybody. But a few county courts have made the necessary appropria- tion; and where.it has been made, the amount is not suffi- cient. Here is new ground. When the General Assembly decides, as it ought to do soon, to let men convicted of a crime and sentenced to imprisonment support their wives and children by their labor it will have to write an out-and- out new act. The law presumes that a man will protect his wife. It 1 9 Thomp. 30; 12 Thomp. 680. ^ S. C. 6888 a-7. s S. C. 6888 a-14. * S. C. 6888 a-9. » S. C. 6888 a-10. o g. c. 7396. ' Chapt. 119, 1919. The Child And The State 17 expects him to do her no hurt. A wife will not be allowed to maintain a civil action against her husband for personal injury; but any assault and battery by a husband upon his wife is a crime." The law. gives further protection to a wife and her chil- dren : 1. By protecting her wages. A married woman depend- ent upon her own wages for support is entitled to have payment made to her, and her employer may not pay to any one but her." 2. By allowing certain personal property exemptions. The head of every family is entitled to have certain per- sonal property exempt from execution, seizure, or attach- ment for debt.' These exemptions are held for the benefit of the wife and children of absconding debtors.* A part of the wages of the head of the family is also exempt from seizure;' but the amount allowed for each month is not sufficient for the support of a family. The law was enacted years ago and should be amended to fit modern conditions. 3. By the allowance of homesteads. The head of every family is allowed a homestead to the value of 1000 dollars." This insures to the benefit of the wife and children;' and when a debtor absconds, his wife and children have the right to have the homestead laid off for their benefit.' 4. By the allowance of a year's support. A widow is en- titled to a year's support for herself and family out of the estate of her deceased husband." 5. By allowing damages for the death of the husband. When the death of the husband is caused by the wrongful act of another, the right of action for damages goes to the widow or his personal representatives for the benefit of the widow and minor children;" and under the elective work- men's compensation act a wife and children under 16 years of age are presumed to be wholly dependent and entitled to the compensation provided by law." 1 S. C. 6470; 6 Thomp. 57. 2 ^. c. 4249 a-2. ^ s. C. 3794. * S. C. 3797. s s. C. 3794. «Const, Art. II, Sec. II. ■? S. C. 3808. » S. C. 3810 a-1. "S.'C. 4020. " S. C. 4025. " Chapt. 123, 1919. 18 Child Welfare in Tennessee 6. By allowance of dower. A widow is entitled to a life estate in one-third of the lands owned by her husband at death f and no husband can deprive his widow of this right by will." The widow takes dower over and above the homestead which fmay have been set aside for the benefit of the widow and children." 7. By allowing the widow to share in the distribution of the personal estate of her deceased husband. The widow is entitled to a child's part provided that she can never take more than one-third of the estate.' 8. By allowing damages for the ahenation of her hus- band's affections. Formerly, wives did not have this right ;' but it is highly probable that it is given in the "Married Woman's Emancipation Act."" For consideration, it is suggested : 1. The juvenile courts should have authority to try a husband for desertion and give judgment when there is a plea of "not guilty." The right of appeal would take care of the right of trial by jury. In many, indeed in most, cases there would be no appeal. The juvenile judge would be able to patch up the differences and to re-establish the family at once. There is complaint that long delays in circuit courts entail suffering upon wives and children. There should be no delay in compelling a man to support his wife and young children. When the crime charged amounts to a felony the criminal court should have jurisdiction, but in any case the juvenile court should be empowered to order a man to sup- port his wife and children and to enforce its orders. Wives who have property sufficient to support them, or who are able to support themselves and have no children, should not stand in the same class with other wives. For con- viction or order it should be shown that the wife either has not sufficient property or is unable to support herself or has children under 17 years of age. 2. That for the benefit of both wives and children com- pensation be provided for the labor of imprisoned men. The 1 S. C. 4139. 2 S. C. 4146. » S. C. 4145. * S. C. 4147; 4172-1. » 14 Pickle 101. <> Chapt. 126, 1919. The Child and The State 19 families of these men are their dependents. They must be supported. The law forces a free man to support his family, and surely a convict should be prmitted to support his. What better means of reformation could be devised? Prenatal Care and Care at Birth. — Now, let us go forward with the child. The State regulates marriage, because it holds possible children in view. What further steps does the State take to insure that every child born will be well formed and healthy? One cannot read the law upon this subject w4thout being forced to the conclusion that the chances are not as good as they might easily be made. First, and to repeat, no cer- tificate of good health, either physical or mental, is required for marriage. It follows that one or both parents of a child of a marriage approved by law may be feeble-minded or syphilitic or both. The State makes no attempt to prevent such persons from becoming the parents of helpless chil- dren. There is a striking legal indifference as to the sort of child which may be conceived. The Mental Defficiency Act' will not deliver the State from the danger of having feeble-mindedness actually cultivated by marriage; for, while this act makes it unlawful for any person to have or attempt to have sexual intercourse with a feeble-minded person, there is no legal restriction against the marriage of the feeble-minded. No one would say that persons duly married may not have sexual intercourse, whatever the men- tal condition. The truth is that but little precaution is taken by the State to prevent the child from being bom a hopeless cripple, a feeble-mind, or an idiot. All this is left to chance. But once the child is conceived, the State begins to stand guard over both it and the woman who bears it. It is a felony to destroy or attempt to destroy the child of a preg- nant woman or to cause a miscarriage by any means, except when necessary to preserve the life of the woman.' The law further declares it to be unprofessional and dishonorable for a physician to procure or to aid or abet in procuring a ' Chapt. 150i 1919. ^ S. C. 6463, 4. 20 Child Welfare in Tennessee criminal abortion ;' but in comparison with the old law, stated just above, this part of the act of 1919 is weaJc. The State guards one line of attack, but leaves others un- protected. Where one life is lost from abortion or mis- carriage purposely caused, scores, hundreds of both mothers and children are either lost or incurably injured by neglect at the time of child-birth. If women are to remain strong and to bear, nurse and rear strong children, they must have their time for childbearing, and proper care. A period of rest from employment is necessary for both the mother and child, as every farmer who makes a success of raising colts knows. There is not only no adequate pro- vision for giving aid to mothers at this time ; but there are absolutely no restrictions thrown by law about the mother or child. There is not the suggestion of a law to restrict the employment of the woman or to make provision for the care of the nursing child. The State knows full well that there are midwives. The Vital Statistics Act' takes legal notice of the fact. The State ought .to have learned by this time that the lives of many children, as well as of mothers, are lost every year through improper care by midwives. No physician is permitted to pratice medicine or to treat either adults or children without a license.' The same is true as to the practice of dentistry.' It is true even of horse and cow doctors." But a midwife is not required by law to hold any sort of license or to show to any board or person that she knows even the most ele- mentary principles of her work or the value of cleanliness. No school of instruction is provided for her. Except that she is required to use the specific to prevent blindness and to make a report of every birth, the State calmly leaves both mother and child to the care of an uninstructed midwife and trusts, if it cares enough to trust at all, to good luck. Every midwife, nurse, or physician is required to treat "the eyes of every newborn child with the specific approved by ^ Chapt. 117, 1919. ^ S. C. 3118 a^26, 27, 40. = g. c. 3609 a-14 32 * S. C. 3626. » S. C. 3654 a-101. ' The Child and The State 21 the State Board of Health to prevent blindness. If any appearances of inflammation of the eyes of the child are ob- served by the midwife, she must notify the local health officer or a competent physician within six hours/ This is good as far as it goes ; but a real local health officer is rare in Tennessee ; so rare that one may almost say, "There hain't no sich animal." Besides there is no assurance that a com- petent physician, when notified, will see the child. There will be no certainty that midwives and physicians will keep the prescribed specific on hand, until the State Board of Health arranges to keep in closer touch with both physicians and midwives. This could best be done through active county health officers. In fact, there is not much hope for the solution of any of these health problems gather- ing about the mother and her child until an efficient county health unit to co-operate with the State Board of Health is established. Every county, and especially every, rural county, needs an active health officer with his aids. The State fails to stand proper guard over children at birth and over their mothers at confinement in that it fails to provide for the adequate investigation and supervision of maternity homes. Unmarried mothers and their childi-en are the ones who suffer most from improper care in poor institutions of this character. Because a woman who is about to become a mother is not married is no reason why the State should permit a maternity home to invite and re- ceive her at the very time when both she and her child about to be born need best care. All maternity homes should be good, but it is well known that some are not. Bad ones flourish in badness; and for this reason every one should have close supervision. They are danger points. Children bom in these homes are not only helpless but often friend- less, and their mothers are very frequently in the same condi- tion. The State must send a friend. Not much, if indeed any, additional law is needed to insure proper care at this point. It is now unlawful to conduct 1 S. C. 6756 a-1, 2, 3, 4. ■ 22 Child Welfare in Tennessee a maternity home or lying-in hospital without a yearly li- cense which is granted upon recommendation and certifi- cate of the Board of State Charities;' and no maternity home or lying-in hospital is permitted to place children un- less it, in addition to having a license, is approved by the certificate of the Board of State Charities as a child-placing agency." The Board of State Charities has now the authority to adopt and declare standards and to supervise all maternity homes. It should exercise it, but with its present ofltice force it is not possible to do so unless it neglects all its other duties. The General Assembly should provide the Board of State Charities with sufficient funds to do its work and by so doing untie its hands. The Bureau of Vital Statistics of the State Board of Health undertakes to keep a record of every child bom in a mater- nity home,' just as it undertakes to make and to keep a record of every other child." Tennessee is in the Federal Registration Area of Vital Statistics for deaths, but not for births. This and the statements of persons who have had opportunity to know is evidence that all births are not being reported. The large number of unlicensed, uninstructed midwives may be some explanation of this fact. As long as a State is failing to giet a complete record of every birth it cannot feel sure that all children and their mothers are properly cared for at childbirth. On the other hand, it is almost certain that some of them are neglected ; for whoever does not regard the law in one case will hardly be careful to observe it in another. Besides, there is no law to pro- vide help in many needy cases. ' For consideration, it is suggested: 1. That steps be taken at once to prevent the marriage of feeble-minded persons and of those affected with certain contagious diseases. 2. That provisions be made in every county for giving 1 S. C. use a-17, IB. 2 S. C. 4436 a-16. » S. C. 3118 a-70. * S. C. 3118 a-25, 30. The Child and The State 23 instruction to mothers, for making examinations, and for giving aid to mothers at time of childbirth. This should be done through the county health units when established. Until they are established some other provision should be made. Some private agency might well be enlisted in this work. 3. That the State Board of Health arrange to instruct and license all midwives, and that it be made unlawful for any one without a license to practice midwifery. Every mid- wife, nurse, and physician in the county should be required to register at the office of the county health department. 4. That funds be provided so that the Board of State Charities may increase its corps of workers to the end that all maternity homes be standardized and adequately super- vised. This should be done in co-operation with the State Board of Health. 5. That the State Board of Health prepare and furnish to the county health departments the specific to prevent blindness, and arrange to get a complete record of all births. 6. That it be made unlawful to employ any woman with- in thirty days' of the birth of her child. Employers of mothers with nursing children should be required to allow to them such time as is necessary to feed and care for them. The Normal Child xinder Normal Conditions. — ^For the pres- ent, let us forget that there are any abnormal children or children living under unusual conditions, and confine our- selves to the child born of sound and legally married parents. We are now considering the ordinary child who, having es- caped abortion and miscarriage on the one hand and the dangers incident to care by an ignorant midwife on the other, gives a lusty yell as the specific is dropped into its eyes, whoes birth is properly registered, and who, a perfect child in good health, begins life with both parents in a good home in which it is to live until it comes to be of age or gets married. The State, relyihg with confidence upon that instinct and parental love which develop soon after the birth of a child if, indeed, it does not exist before — freely trusts the child 24 Child Welfare in Tennessee to the care of its parents. The experience of man is that in most cases this is wise. Much, indeed most, of the lives of most children is spent in homes with parents who are never conscious of any law save the higher law of love. But the State, in order to insure in some degree that care will be given to every child and to make clear to parents their rights, powers, and especially their duties, with respect to their children, has declared certain principles of law which are to govern parents of children and other persons. We are now dealing with legitimate chldren only and must, therefore, define the term. A legitimate child is one born of a married woman or of a widow within ten lunar months after the death of her husband t but a colored child bom to a white woman is not deemed legitimate.'' This ex- ception follows the rule of law that, while every child bom in wedlock or within a reasonable time after the death of the husband is presumed to be legitimate, the presumption of legitimacy may be overcome by showing that the woman's husband could not possibly have been the father of the child.' Rights and Powers of Parents . — We may well write, "Rights and Powers of Fathers," for the law declares the husband and father to be the head of the family. The rights of a father with respect to his minor children are so high that he cannot be divested of them except for moral or mental incapacity.' He may, however, forfeit, surrender, or waive his rights in his child. The primary right is that of custody of the child. This right belongs in the first instance to the father, extending to a stepchild received into his home, and is based upon his duty to support and educate his child. A mother has no right of custody against the father; but if the mother has the custody, the court will not necessarily restore the child to the father, but will be guided by what is best for the child." The marriage of the child terminates the father's right of custody." > 1 S. C. 4170; 2 Swan. 446. ^ S. C. 4170a. » 7 Humph 411. < 5 Sneed. 146. » 4 Humph. B23. « 4 Baxter B83. The Child and The State 25 The right of custody embraces the right to control and, .if necessary, to punish ; but no father may exceed the bounds of moderation or inflict cruel or needless punishment without becoming criminally liable." A minor child will not be per- mitted, however, to maintain an action against a father for personal injury." A father has the right to the services and earnings of his child and of his stepchild living as one of his family;' but this right may be waived either expressly or by impli- cation. It follows that a father may by civil action recover the wages of his minor child who has not been emancipated. It also follows that a father or, in case he is dead, the mother who then takes the rights of the father, may recover dam- ages for loss of services and expenses when a minor is injured by the wrongful act of another." This does not include dam- ages for injury to the child. Action for these must be brought in the name of the child-" The law gives to a father or, if he is dead or has deserted his family to the mother the right to recover damages for the seduction of a daughter." The statute includes adult as well as minor daughters, but the court has ruled that dam- ages may not be recovered by a parent for the seduction of a daughter twenty-one years of age or over. A father has no right to the estate of his child. His rights of guardianship extend only to the care of the person of his minor child. The estate of a minor is handled by a guardian legally appointed.' Adoption means the transfer of the custody of the child. A father has, therefore, the power to consent or to forbid the adoption of his child. The consent of the mother is not ordinarily required ; but if the father is dead or has desert- ed his family, her consent is necessary, unless she is not able to support her child.' This means that a father has the • right to send a child away from the mother, however much she may love it or however able she may be to care for it. It 1 2 Humph. 283. 2 3 Gates 388. s 5 Sneed 146. * S. C. 4503, 19 Pickle 497. = S. C. 4504, 7 Gates 720. e s. G. 4502. ^ 4 Heisk. 522; 9 Yer. 462; 10 Yer. 10. « 22 Pickle 549. 26 Child Welfare in Tennessee is grossly unfair. Where both are living with the child, the consent of both should be required to adoption. The law gives to fathers no power to apprentice a child. Apprenticeship applies only to orphans,, illegitimates, or children abandoned by their fathers. But when the father is dead or has abandoned his family, the consent of the mother must be had unless she is unable or unfit to care for her child.* A father has the power to consent or to refuse to consent to the marriage of his child under 18 years of age. The mother need not join; but if the father is dead, then she or the guardian has the same power.' Here again the law is unfair to the mother. If consent is to be required at all, it should be the consent of both parents when they live together with the child. A father, even if he is himself under 21 years of age, has the power by will or deed to dispose of the custody of his child to a guardian, and this rule holds even though the child was not born at the time of the father's death.' A mother has no such right. If, however, the father has failed to dispose of the custody by deed or will, the mother at his death takes the custody.^ Here again the law is Unfair to mothers in that it gives to the father the right to send her child away from her without her consent. True, the courts might decree that the child remain with the mother for its best interests, but that does not mitigate the unfairness of this particular statute. Whenever the custody of a child living with both parents is to be transferred, the consent of the mother as well as the father should be required, and the transfer should be always by decree of the court. Parents living together with a child should have joint rights and powers with re- spect to it. As natural guardian a father has the right to be pre- ferred for appointment as guardian of the estate of his child ; 1 S. C. 4323. 2 S. C. 4192 a-1 as amended by chapt. 156, 1919. 8 S. C. 4528. ♦ 7 Heisk. 466. The Child and The State 27 but he has no right to exercise any control over the estate until he is legally appointe'd. The natural guardianship is for nurture only/ With reference to third parties a father has the right : 1. To advise, counsel, and maintain his daughter who has separated from her husband." A mother probably has the same right, certainly if the father is dead or has aban- doned his family. 2. To have his child under 12 years of age left undis- turbed in his custody. It is a felony to take or to decoy such child away.° It is also a felony to take any female under 21 years of age away from the father or person hav- ang her in legal charge, for purposes of prostitution or concubinage." The law does not apply if the girl is unchaste : but it does apply if the girl was chaste at the time, even though she may have been unchaste before and went will- ingly." Where the girl, chaste except with the defendant, was taken and kept two days and nights, the defendant has been held guilty." Duties of Parents . — To the child, the duties of the father are much more important than his rights. The father can look out for his rights; but the child, being a child, may not and generally does not know his rights, may not be able to cry out against wrongs, may not even be conscious that wrong is being done him. A father owes to his child care, protection, support, and education in so far as he is able to provide them. The State does not expect impossibilities. It expects the same care, support, and education to be -given by the father to any child not his own, who is received into his home as his child.' It follows that he will be held to pay for necessaries furnished to his child if he has failed to supply them him- self ; he will not be held to pay if he has provided reasonable necessaries.' The father will not be held to pay if the child has abandoned his home, unless driven away by bad treat- ment." ~ 9 Yer. 463. 2 5 Pickle 478. ^ S. C. 6465. * 7 Thomp. 482". 5 6 PiAle 81; 1 Gates 17. « 13 Pickle 496. ' Sneed 146; 11 Lea 563. 8 Head. 33. » 2 Shan Cases 408. 28 Child Welpake in Tennessee The duties of the father are transferred to the mother at his death just as the right of custody is transferred;' but only his death will terminate his duties. Even when the parents have separated and the child lives with the mother, it is the duty of the father to support it, especially if he has made no attempt to regain it and the mother is without means.' But the State does not expect the father to do more than he is able to do. It is a well-settled policy of the law that when a father is not able- to support and educate his child, and the child has an estate of his own, the court will order an allowance out of this for support and education.' The criminal law may be invoked to compel a father to give proper care to his child. It is a felony for a father or any other person to expose a child with intent to injure it.* It is a crime for a father without good cause to neglect or to fail to provide for his child under sixteen years of age ;' and it is a felony for a father who has abandoned his child to quit the State, leaving the child without support, except when he goes to employment offered and accepted.' These acts have been upheld and declared constitutional.' Juve- nile courts have final jurisdiction in cases of non-support or abandonment of a child when there is a plea of "guilty" and may order definite payments foj* one year; but if there is a plea of "not guilty," the case goes to the circuit court for trial by jury.' The civil law strengthens the general rule that the child is to be supported by his father in that : 1. I^ allows to him as head of the family certain per- sonal property exemptions f-or the benefit of his children, as well as of his widow. These exemptions are set aside for the benefit of the wife and children of an absconding debtor and go for their benefit even after his death." 2. By the allowance of a homestead." This is for the benefit of both wife and children." It has been held that the children have no rights in the homestead until the death of 1 59 S. W. 494. 2 10 Thomp. 386. s 11 Lea 563. * S. C. 6466. S. C. 6888 a-18. a S. C. 6888 a-25, 26. ■< 10 Thomp. 521. s g q 6888 a-22. » s. C. 3997. i» S. C. 37^8. " 16 Lea 377. The Child and The State 29 the widow ; but there being no widow, the rights of children run even against a will.' The law will not permit the acts of third parties to deprive children of their rights of home- stead." 3. By giving to children the right to recover damages for the wrongful death of the father." It has been held that this right, however, belongs first to the, widow, and that suit can be brought by the children only in case there is no widow. It has also been held that the widow has full rights to compromise or to settle, the children, of course, being entitled to their part of the sum derived from the compro- mise or settlement.* This gives the widow an undue advan- tage. It would be easy to deprive the children of most of their rights to recover damages for the death of their father. No widow should have the right to settle or to compromise without the consent of the legal representative of the chil- dren, and no such settlement should be a bar to action by the children unless approved by the court. 4. The children and the widow share in the distribution of the personal estate of a deceased father. If there is no widow, the children take all.' The father can never take more than one third." 5. The children of a deceased father inherit his real estate, subject, of course, to the widow's right of dower;' but a father may dispose of his property by will "and could therefore leave his child, however young and helpless, with- out support from his estate. It must, however, be clear that the father meant to disinherit the child. A child born after the making of a will, and not specifically provided for or disinherited, takes his share just as if the father had made no will' The same is true of a posthumous child." But a colored child born of a white woman may never in any case inherit from her white husband."" The duty of a father or other person having a child in charge, as to education, is defined by the compulsory educa- ' 19 Pickle 719; 1 Lea 701. 2 13 Lea 10. ^ s. C. 4025. * 5 Lea 419. s S. C. 4172-2. 6 S. C. 4172-2." ' S. C. 4163-la; 4139. s s. C. 3925. s S. C. 4170.' 1° S. C. 4170a. 30 Child Welfare in Tennessee tion law. The law also defines in some measure the rights, powers, and duties of a father or other person having the care of a child with respect to its employment. For consideration, it is suggested: 1. That the law should declare that the father and mother have equal joint rights of custody in the child and •that when permanent custody is to be transferred to a third party by consent the consent of both should be required and the transfer should be always by decree of the juvenile court. 2. That the right of a father to the services and earn- ings of his child should not be absolute. When the father is able to work, but fails to do so, he should have no right to the wages of his minor child. 3. That, as heretofore stated, if the consent of the father is required for marriage of a child, then the consent of the mother when the parents live together should also be required. 4. That a father should have no right to send a child away from the care of the mother by deed, will, or otherwisei, without her consent. In every case the transfer of per- manent custody should be by decree of the juvenile court, and the law should be that the mother, if the father is dead, is entitled to the custody of the child regardless of any will made by him. 5. That it be made the duty of the mother, as well as of the father, to support, care for, and educate her child. The duty of the father should not be weakened, but the same responsibility for the care of the child should be placed upon the mother. 6. That the juvenile court act be amended so that im- mediate support for the child may be had from either father or mother. Delays in providing support for children should not be suffered to arise from lack of jurisdiction or appeal. The juvenile court should have the power to make orders for the support and care of the child whenever necessary. If the child is found to be in nee.d, the juvenile court should have the power to order the parents, if 'able, to supply that need immediately,, regardless of any right of appeal. The Child and The State 31 7. That the law be changed so that a widow may not have the right to compromise or to settle when the father has been killed by the wrongful act of another. The consent of the legal representative of the children and the approval of the court should be required in such cases. 8. That the law be changed so as to prevent a father or mother from depriving his or her child under 17 years of age of support by will. Whoever takes under the will should be charged with the support of the child in the amount received. CONTINGENCIES We have been thinking of the normal child who is born and lives in the ordinary home with both of his legal parents. There are, however, in Tennessee, children who were not ' born in the home of their legal parents, and others who do not continue to live in such homes until they get married or attain majority. There are all sorts of ijnusual cases, all sorts of contingencies which may arise to change the whole course of a child's life. It is these very contingencies which present to the State many of the most complex problems in child care. Let us see what legal forces move to the aid of the child placed in need of special care and attention by the arising of certain leading contingencies. These are enumerated below and will be considered in the order given. 1. The lack of a legal father. 2. The adoption of the child by another person. 3. The abandonment of the child by the father. 4. The arrest and imprisonment of the father. 5. The child's running away from home. 6. The removal of the child from the care of the father because of dependency, neglect, or delinquency. 7. The marriage of the child. 8. The divorce of the parents. 9. The death of the father. 10. The defectiveness of the child. 32 Child Welfare in Tennessee Contingency One— the Child of t he Unmarried Mother.— Some children, being bpm out of wedlock, are, in the language of the law, bagtards.. In Tennessee a bastard is any child bom of a woman not married at the time of its birth, but a child born within a reasonable time after the death of the woman's husband or divorce is not a bastard. The law is slow to bastardize any child and presumes that every child born in wedlock or within a reasonable time after the termination of the marital relation is legitimate. It will, however, permit this presumption to be overcome by evidence ;'— that is, showing that the husband could hot possibly be the father of the child, as, for instance, when a colored child is born of a white woman married to a white man." In general, the rights, powers, and duties of an unmarried mother with respect to her child are those of a legal father with respect to his child. She stands in his place, but with the right to bring an action to compel the real father to aid her somewhat, a little, in supporting the child. She has the right of custody; and if she is able and fit to care for her child she may enforce this right against the county court, the declared or legitimating father, or any one else. The child is hers and must be left with her as idng as she gives it proper care.' An illegitimate child may be taken from the mother and bound out or given to the declared father by the county court only when she is unable or unfit to care for it or consents.* Being entitled to the custody of her child, the unmarried mother is required by law to care for, support, and educate it. The very condition of retaining custody is that she be fit, and able to give, and actually does give, proper care. She is entitled to its services and earnings so long as it lives with her, and she could undoubtedly maintain an action for its wages or for loss of its services caused by the wrong I 7 Humph. 411. 2 S. C. 4170a. » 1 Yer. 92; 1 Swan 133. * S. C 4321, 2708; 9 Baxter 434; 7 Yer. 615. The Child and The State 33 of another. An illegitimate child may maintain a civil action for the wrongful death of his mother. The cirminal law holds an unmarried mother responsible for the cai-e of her child. It is felony for her to expose it.' It is a misdemeanor for her to fail to supt)ort or to abandon it r and it is a felony for her to leave the State with intent to leave the child without support." The child of an unmarried mother inherits from its mother as if bom in wedlock, and equally with legitimate children.* Illegitimates take equally with legitimates from a brother or sister, legitimate or illegitimate." An illegitimate's property goes at his death to his descendants or to his heirs on his mother's side just as if he were legitimate. If he leaves no children or descendants thereof, his property goes first to his mother and then to her other children." The mother of an illegitimate child inherits from him as against his natural father, regardless of the fact that the father may have legitimated him. Legitimation gives to the father no rights of inheritance.' The law provides a way by which an unmarried mother may compel the father of her child to contribute a little, a very little, however, for the support of her child. The remedy is by a bastardy proceeding. This proceeding may be begun in one of two ways: any justice of the peace, who knows that an illegitimate child has been born, and who fears that it may become a county charge, may order the woman to declare the name of the father of her child; or the mother may go before a justice and voluntarily declare the name of the father.' The jurisdiction of a justice of the peace in a bastardy proceeding extends no further than to take the declaration, to issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused, and to bind him, when arrested, to the county court." He has no right to try the case. 1 S. C. 6466. 2 S. C. 6888a-15. 3 g. C. 6888a-25. * S. C. 4169; 13 Gates 45. ^ s. C. 4169; 18 Pickle 460. « S. C. 4166. ^ i Yer. 92; 2 Gates 175. s s. C. 7334; 3 Heisk. 108. 9 S. C. 7334, 5. 34 Child Welfare in Tennessee Bastardy cases are tried before the county court of the county of the woman's residence/ If the child is not bom at the time of the declaration and arrest, the case may be continued until after its birth.' The action is a mixed civil and criminal action to enforce aid for the mother in support- ing her child.' Since the action is in reality for the support of the child, the mother may not be compelled to declare its father if she gives bond that it will not become a county charge;' and no bastardy proceeding will lie unless it is alleged that the child is likely to become a county charge." In other words the State's primary interest is to save the county from the expense of supporting a child — not the highest interest certainly. In a bastardy hearing either party is a competent witness ;' but the declaration of the woman makes out a prima facie case, and the doctrine of reasonable doubt does not run, as in strictly criminal cases.' The trial in the county court is not by jury, but appeal may be had at the instance of either party to the circuit court for trial by jury.' At the trial it is competent to show that the character of the woman is bad, and that therefore she is unworthy of belief. If the accused fails to appear, judgment will be given against his bond ;° and if he at the trial is found to be the father of the. child, the court may order him to pay for its support not exceeding forty dollars the first year, thirty the second, and twenty the third. After that, all liability of the father to aid in the support of the child ceases." The court may in its discretion bind the child out, give it to its declared father, or, of course, leave it with the mother if she it fit and able to care for it. The county court is the only court which has authority to fix the amount which the declared father must pay ;" and in no case may this exceed the sum of ninety dollars. The sum ordered paid goes to the commissioners of the poor for the benefit of the child, but the father may not be im- 1 S. C. 7336. 2 S. C. 7340. » 2 Sneed 215; 9 Baxter 597. * S. C. 7333. 5 3 Heisk. 108. » 3 Bax. 384 ; 7 Bax. 41. ' 9 Bax. 597. s g, c. 7350. « S. C. 7341. " S. C. 7345. " S. C. 7345, 51. The Child and The State 35 prisoned for his failure to pay the amount fixed., It follows that the liability to contribute even the little amount fixed by law for the support of his illegitimate child becomes merely a civil obligation. To- sum it up. . A bastardy proceeding will lie only when it is likely that the child will become a county charge, and it is so. alleged. At most, the natural father can be com- pelled to pay to the commissioners of the poor, for the bene- fit of the child, ninety dollars, and he may' not be imprisoned for failure to contribute even this small amount. There is no provision for forcing the father to aid the mother at the time of her confinement, unless, of course, she takes a part of what legally belongs to the child. Ninety dollars at most! One could hardly keep a mule colt for three years in Tennessee for ninety dollars. A child has to be supported for five times three years and more. Seing the very little responsibility which the law imposes upon fathers of illegitimate children, it is no wonder that the State has many such. The law almost encourages men in the exercise of unrestrained passion. The law is that when the father of an illegitimate child marries the mother the child thereby becomes legitimate.' This probably refers to a man who has been found guilty in a bastardy proceeding. A natural father may legitimate his illegitimate child by petition in either the county or circuit court." The effect of legitimation by petition is to make the child legitimate just as if born in wedlock, so far as inheritance from or through the father is concerned;' but this gives to the father no right to the custody of the child,' and a father does not inherit from his legitimate child. Both rights belong exclusively to the mother as against the father." The resolutions adopted by the Chicago Regional Confer- ence February 10, 1920, and by the New York Regional Conference February 17, 1920, both of which were held 1 14 Gates 316. ^ S. C. 5402. ^ s. C. 5408 ; 2 Swan 446. * 1 Yer. 92. 5 S. C. 4166; 7 Yer, 615. 36 Child Welfare in Tennessee under the auspices of the Children's Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor for the purpose of discussing legis- lation for the "Protection of the Child Bom out of Wedlock," should be read with care by every one who is planning legis- lation upon this subject. In each case the resolutions show that each conference realized clearly that no hard-and-fast, cut-and-dried plan could be recommended for the use in every State, but that only leadng principles could be sug- gested. Some of 'these principles, the writer believes, are not applicable to Tennessee. For consideration, it is suggested: 1. That the birth of every child born out of wedlock, just as that of every other child, should be registered promptly. It would be well to designate some one in every county to follow up every illegitimate child, as well as every other child dependent or neglected or in danger of becoming so, and to see that proper care is given. This means an official social agent. 2. That, while no unmarried woman should be forced to declare the name of the father of her child, juvenile courts should have jurisdiction to fix the paternity of the child at any time within sixteen years of its birth, provided that no person not living should be declared to be the father of the child. 3. That it is the duty of the State to see that every child born out of wedlock receives proper care. The un- married mother should be held responsible for this care; and the father, if he can be determined, should likewise be held. If these fail, the State must not only stand to supply the care; it must make inquiry to learn if a lack of care exists. ,4. When a man has been adjudged to be the father of an illegitimate child his duty to maintain and educate that child should be the same as the duty of the father of a legitimate child to do so — no more, no less ; and this should be the law. Juvenile courts should enforce this duty with respect to the father of an illegitimate just as it forces other fathers to give care to their children. The child should remain under the supervision of the juvenile court, and this .The CHH.D AND The State 37 court should have a rather wide discretipn in the matter of making orders for the support of the child. 5. Juvenile courts should have the power to approve settlements made out of. court when proper provision is made for the care of the child. 6. In addition to being required to support the child, the father of an illegitimate should be required to pay a definite sum to the mother for her care during confinement. There is a rather general belief that an illegitimate child who has been declared by the court to be the child of a certain man should be that man's heir. I doubt the wis- dom of this and am convinced that the State should direct its attention to forcing the father to provide for the care and education of the child up to the age of 17 years. Where an adjudged father marries the mother, the child should be held in law to be legitimate ; but this should not be true in any other case unless the father acknowledges the pater- nity of the child in writing, and it would be well to require this to be recorded. The father owes this much to the mother, to the child, and to himself. Besides a man who is not the father of her child often marries the mother of an illegitimate child. If he receives her child into his family, he is required to give it care, support, and education, but no one would say that the child should be made his heir. A written and recorded acknowledgment would avoid con- fusion. On the whole I am convinced , that the State should direct its efforts not so much to the removal of the stigrna which attaches to the fact of illegitimacy, but to providing proper care for the mother and child. The opinion of society cannot be controlled by law. Besides, attempts to remove stigmas may have a strong tendency to undermine the in- stitution of marriage. The State should act solely on the ground that it is its fundamental duty to see that its every child is cared for and properly educated. The right of inher- itance makes no great difference any way. If the child is given proper care and sufficient schooling, he can get on without any inheritance either in money or land. 38 Child Welfare in Tennessee Contingency Two^Adoptio n.— County and circuit courts have concurrent jurisdiction in adoption, and a decree of adoption will be granted by either in its discretion upon petition/ The legal father would, of course, have to con- sent to the proceeding. The consent of the mother if the father is living with the child is not required, and with the consent of the father the child might be taken from her, however much she might object or be able to care for it. If she does not consent, however, the custody of the child may revert to her upon the death of both the father and the adopter, unless the court should decide that it is not for the best interests of the child to go with the mother. The mother has the right of custody if the father is dead or has abandoned his family, and in either case the consent of the mother will be necessary for adoption. The consent of the mother of an illegitimate child, if she is fit and able to care for her child, is necessary for its adoption. A married woman may join with her husband in adopting a child ; but the law does not require it, and her husband may bring a child into her home for her care without even consulting her.^ The adopter of a child takes the custody of it and becomes as much responsible for its protection, care, maintenance, and education as if its legal father. All rights, powers, and duties of the actual father are transferred to the adopter. The home of the adopter becomes the home of the child.' The name of the child may or may not be changed in either adoption or legitimation.* This would indicate that adoption and legitimation are much the same, but there is a very marked distinction between them. Legitimation is a legal process by which the father of an illegitimate child makes it legitimate," while adoption simply gives the right of custody and makes the child the heir and distributee of the adoptei'." 'i S.'C. 4509, 10. 2 22 Pickle 249. » 3 Pickle 644. * S. C. 5412. ■> 2 Swaii 446;' 11 Lea 652. " 5 Pickle 466; 11 Rckle 605. The Child and The State 39 For consideration, it is suggested: 1. That juvenile courts should have exclusive jurisdic- tion in adoption. 2. That the consent of the mother, if living with the father, should be required. 3. That the consent of the wife or husband of the per- son adopting the child should be required before adoption is decreed. Contingency Three — The Abandoned Child; Apprentice- ship . — A father may by abandonment forfeit his right to the custody of his child, but he is not relieved of his duty to support and educate it until it is actually apprenticed or otherwise disposed of by the court. The county court has the right to apprentice three classes of children — those aban- doned, orphans without property, and illegitimates' — but no child may be taken from its mother and bound out with- out her consent, unless she is unable or unfit to care for it.' The county court has exclusive original jurisdiction in apprenticeship.' The whole matter lies with the court. A father has no right to apprentice his child ;* he may, how- ever, contract the services of his child for a term. It follows that no mother has the right to apprentice her child, whether it be abandoned by the father, an orphan, or an illegitimate. All she can do is to consent. The law upon this point was clearly stated in the case of Norris vs. Stephens, reported in 9 Bax. 432. This case holds. a. That the mother of a child whose father has aban- doned it or is dead must consent to apprenticeship, unless she is unable to support it. (Unfitness would have to be included, certainly for illegitimates.") b. That notice of an apprenticeship proceeding must be given to the mother of the child. c. That if the child is able to support himself he must be made a party to the proceeding." No institution. State, county, or private, has the power 3 S. C. 4321, 23. 2 s. C. 2708; 9 Bax. 433. a S. C. 6027-12. * 2 Humph. 153. ^ S. C. 2708. « 9 Bax, 432. 40 Child Welfare in Tennessee to bind out children. To repeat, apprenticing is a court pro- ceeding. Apprenticing is by indentures between the State (for the child) and the master,' of which a counterpart is kept in the office of the county clerk.' In making the contract it is the duty of the county court to get the best terms possible for the child. The law fixes the minimum terms, not the maximum, in favor of the child." The term of ap- prenticeship may be for males until twenty-one years of age, for females until eighteen, unless the court sees fit to bind out for a shorter term.* The law writes into the contract an agreement that the apprentice is to be clothed, fed, hous- ed and taught to read, write, and cypher to the rule of three.' The apprentice may not be taken out of the county without the consent of the county court ;° and at the end of the term the master is required, in addition to whatever else may have been contracted for and agreed upon, to give to the apprentice a good suit of clothes and twenty dollars in money.' The county court may cancel the indentures whenever it appears that the child is not being taught his trade or profession according to contract.' A master has the right to punish his apprentice in mod- eration ; and a master may punish a child hired for a term, as a year, but "not if the child is employed by the day." For consideration, I have but one suggestion to make, and that is that all the law on apprenticeship be repealed and that it be declared against public policy for any court to undertake to bind out any child. If it is true, as has been reported that certain institutions are binding out children, this should be stopped even if the law of apprenticeship is not repealed. Institutions have no power to apprentice chil- dren. If the law should not be repealed, then juvenile courts should be given exclusive jurisdiction in all cases of appren- ticing children. 1 S. C. 4330. 2 S. C. 4331. » 2 Swan 326. « S. C. 4321. » S. C. 4334. 8 S. C. 4333. ■< S. C. 4335. « S. C. 4336. » 3 Sham. Cases 652. The Child and The State 41 Contingency Four — Arrest and Imprisonment of the Father. — Tennessee makes no attempt to have men who are imprisoned at labor to contribute to the support of their chil- dren. The remarkable thing is, not that this is the rule in this State, but that it is the rule in most States. The State will not permit a man who is not imprisoned to fail to support his children; but will deliberately carry him away, leaving them often in want, put him to work, and then withhold from them every cent of his earnings. • There could be but one motive, for the State's neglect in letting men or women imprisoned at labor fail to contribute to the maintenance of their children, and that is the desire of the State to save money. This desire leads the State to forget that in one way or another it must either support these children or permit them to suffer. Imprisonment is in part, at least, for the purpose of re- formation. For reformation a reasonable amount of con- tentment is necessary. There could be no better way of pro- moting reformation than to allow the prisoner to contribute to the support of his children. The satisfaction of doing this will be no small matter to him. Besides, it is honesty. The State has, can have, no moral right to deprive chil- dren of their father's support, if it can be avoided. A part of the proceeds of the labor of every prisoner should go to his family. If he has no family or other de- pendents, it should be held and paid to him at his discharge. For consideration, it is, suggested: 1. That provision be made whereby men or women im- prisoned at labor may contribute to the support of their dependent children. 2. That if the State will not pay wages to all persons imprisoned at labor, then it should be the duty of the juvenile court to investigate and to determine whether the imprisonment of a parent renders his children dependent. If the juvenile court finds that the children will be left without support, the State or county, whichever is enforc- ing the labor of the parent, should pay a weekly amount for the care of the children. If the wife has not sufficient prop- 42 Child Welfare in Tennessee erty for her support and is unable to support herself, the same rule should apply. 3. A mother who is imprisoned at labor and has chil- dren dependent upon her for support should come under the provision of the same rules. Her children have to live. Contingency Five— The Runaway Child .— A father is held to see to it that his child does not go wandering about from place to place, but the law does not hold a father whose child has left home without his consent to the same degree of care as if the child remained at home. As already stated, a father is not required to support his child who has deserted his home without good cause, and a father may by his conduct waive all rights to the services and earnings of the child. Contingency Six^Dependent, Neglected, or Delinque nt Child . — The Supreme Court of Tennessee in numerous cases has declared that a child may be removed from its home when this is for its best interests. It follows from this that any child who is not properly cared for, who is neglected or has become delinquent from any cause, may be taken from the care of his father or other custodian and placed as the court may deem best. In fact, this is the underlying prin- ciple of the juvenile court law. Once the child is taken from his father because of depen- dency, neglect, or delinquency the determination of the re- lations which are to exist in the future and the degree of re- sponsibility of the father for the care, support, and education of the child are matters for the juvenile court. Contingency Seven — Married Child. — The State accepts it as a fact that marriage is, among other things, for the purpose of establishing a new and independent home. When either the boy or girl is of full legal age to contract marriage without consent of parent or guardian (eighteen) , the fact of marriage ends the legal relations which ordinarily exist between a father and his child, male or female. The rela- The Child and The State 43 tions which exist in law between a husband and wife super- sede those of parent and child. Where the child is under eighteen years and marries, it is probable that the fact of marriage may not terminate the relation of parent and child in the same absolute manner ; but if the marriage is finally sonsummated — that is, if there is cohabitation after the girl arrives at the age of 12 or the boy at 14 — then it is certain that the law in sustaining the relation of husband and wife terminates that of parent and child. A father is under no obligation to support his married minor son or daughter and is not entitled to the services or earnings of either. The minor wife must look tc^ her husband for support, and the minor husband must use his wages for the support of his own family. Contingency Eight — Child of Divorced Parents. — Divorce defines and generally terminates family relations already strained and necessarily interrupts the relations between the children if there are any and one at least of the parents. Divorces are granted by either the circuit court or chancery court." There are two kinds: absolute, and from bed and board.'' A divorce from bed and board is nothing but a decree of separation' and does not affect the rights of do^^er or homestead.^ The general rule is that the marriage relation cannot be dissolved except by decree of the court;' but a marriage when one of the parties was already married, being absolute- ly void, need not be set aside by a court." No marriage will be annulled after the death of one of the parties.' Residence in the State for two years must be shown by the party seeking a divorce, but the acts complained of need not have been committed in the State:' The action must be brought either in the county of residence at the time of separation or in which the defendant resides or is found; but if the defendant is not a resident of the State," the ac- 1 S. C. 6070; 6111j •"■ S. C. 4201, 2. ^ 5 gneed 250. * 12 Lea 292. 5 2 Cold. 534,' 374; 2 Lea 176. « ,4 Yer. 503; 18 Pickle 148. ' 2 Cold. 534. 8 S. C. 4203. , ?. S. C. 4204. 44 Child Welfare in Tennessee 'I tion may be brought in the cpunty of the petitioner's resi- dence. A bill for divorce must declare the cause and pray either for divorce or for divorce and other relief." It must be verified and show that it is not made in levity or collusion/ No divorce will be granted upon admission or confession.' Trial of the issues by a jury may be had." Where adultery is alleged as the cause of action, no di- vorce will be granted if it is shown that the petitioner has been guilty of the same offense, has condoned the offense, or, if a husband, has allowed and received hire for his wife's prostitution or has exposed her to lewd company." In divorce actions evidence is offered either by deposi- tions or witnesses." The conduct of the petitioner may be shown as a defense;' and the court, after hearing all the facts and the verdict of the jury, if there should be a jury, will decree divorce or a separation perpetual or temporary or such other relief as the circumstances warrant.' Whether the marriage is dissolved either absolutely or only temporarily, the court may make an' allowance for the maintenance of the petitioning wife and her children, to be paid by the husband or out of his property." The Su- preme Court has declared that an action for divorce and alimony are not necessarily the same. One may be had with- out the other." Alimony is an allowance made for the benefit of the wife and children out of the estate of the husband pending divorce or after separation or divorce." A divorce without alimony or alimony without divorce may be granted if a legal separation has been decreed." In order to secure the allowance made, the court may decree to the ■wife the use of a part of the husband's estate, real or per- sonal, and in making this decree it will consider the amount of property received by the husband from the wife." A wife who obtains a divorce from her husband is en- titled to all her real estate and such of her personal property 1 S. C. 4205. 2 S. C. 4206. » S. C. 4212. * S. C. 4211. ^ s. C. 4213. 8 S. C. 4215. 7 S. C. 4219. « S. C, 4220. » S. C. 4221. " 1 Heisk. 561. 11 5 Pickle 573. " 1 Heisk. 561; 3 Head 184. " s. C. 4222. The Child and The State 45 as she has in possession. When the marriage is dissolved at the suit of the husband he loses none of his rights in her property;' but in such case the wife loses her rights to dower, to share in the distribution of the husband's per sonal property, and to have alimony.' If the husband ob tains a divorce from his wife because of adultery and she afterwards lives openly with the adulterer, any deed of conveyance made by her is absolutely void.' With reference to the children of parents before the court in a divorce action the law is: a. That the minor children are also before the court. b. That the dissolution of marriage by a decree of di- vorce will not make illegitimate any child who is legitimate without the divorce. c. That the court may at the time of decreeing the di- vorce assign the children or any of them to either party as appears to be for the best interests of the children." d. That the father is required to support his child even when assigned to the mother." Contingency Nine — Orphans ; Guardianship. — As the father has rights in his child superior to those of its mother, the law evidently regards the mother's death as merely a misfortune. When the father is left, no change is made in the legal status of the child by reason of the death of the mother. The father, being in law the head of the family, retains after the death of the fyther all his rights and powers in the child and continues under the same legal obligations as formerly to both the child and the State with respect to it. In case of the death of the father there is a change in legal relations. Every minor is supposed to have some one who takes care not only of his property but of his person — a guardian. The father is the natural guardian of the per- son, and when he dies or abandons the child a substitute father must be found. The general rule is that every minor 1 S. C. 4225. 2 S. C. 4226. ^ s. C. 4227. * 7 Humph. 441. s n Gates 113. 46 Child Welfare in Tennessee child with an estate must have a guardian. A father even has no right to intermeddle with the estate of his minor child until regularly appointed as guardian/ This, however, is subject to the statutory exception that, if the estate of an orphan is under 150 dollars in value, no guardian need be appointed, as the county court will handle the estate of the child." When the father is living and the child has an estate, the father has the right to be preferred as guardian, unless it appears to the court that the best interests of the child de- mand some other person. If the father is dead, the mother is entitled to the same right of preference;' and when a mother is abandoned without lawful cause, or when she has obtained a divorce and the children are given to her, she may be appointed guardian and take the custody, care, and education of her children.* In all such cases the welfare of the child is to be the ruling factor." A father, even if under 21 years of age, may by deed or will dispose of the custody of his child until 21 or married, even if the child is not born at the time of his death." A mother has no such statutory right even after the death of her husband, but the court may appoint the person named by her.' The apparent harshness of this rule has, however, been somewhat modified by the courts. When there is no guardian appointed by the father, the mother will take the custody of the child;" and even if a guardian has been ap- pointed by the father, the courts would probably leave the child with the mother when for its best interests-" The law is not entirely fair to mothers with respect to guardianship. It should clearly declare: a. That a mother has equal joint rights of custody with the father. b. That neither can during the life of the other, if they 1 9 Yer, 462; 4 Helsk. 522. ^S. C. 4256. » S. C. 4252. * S. C. 4251. » 4 Humph. 523 ; 4 Hay. 30; 7 Bax. 211. » S. C. 4258. ' 6 Pickle 445. 8 7 Heisk. 451. » 4 Humph. 523; 7 Humph. 111. The Child and The State 47 live together, transfer the right of custody from the other without his or her consent. c. ^That a mother, if the husband be dead or has aban- doned her, may appoint a guardian for her child by will. Two courts have concurrent jurisdiction in matters of guardianship, the chancery court and the county court." In practice, the chancery court appoints and supervises special, and the county court general, guardians. In fact, only the county court has the power to appoint general guardians. While the court will give consideration to the preferences declared by law, it may and will, when the best interests of the child demand it, appoint some other person as guardian, even if not akin." Every guardian appointed by the court is required to give bond in double the value of the ward's estate to dis- charge his every duty;* and guardians appointed by will or deed of the father, unless specifically exempt, are also re- quired to give similar bonds." Every guardian is required to make annual settlement with the clerk of the county court" and to renew his- bond every two years.' The county court may remove any guardian failing to renew his bond,' or any guardian unfaithful in the discharge of his trust." The county court has full right to remove guardians appoint- ed by will for cause."" A general guardian, whether appointed by the court or will of the father, takes possession of all the estate and is re- quired to hold and preserve it for the use of the ward." Ordinarily a general guardian takes the custody, but the best interests of the child may lead the court to make other arrangements."^ Charged with the collection of all debts due the estate, he is empowered and required to bring suits ;" and when any funds come into his hand he is required to 1 S. C. 4259. 2 13 Lea 25. » 4 Hay. 30. * S. C. 4260. s s. C. 4261. 6 S. C. 4264. ■< S. C. 4265. s g. C. 5266. s g Baxter 498. i" 4 Hay. 30. 11 S. C. 4272; 4 Hay. 30; 7 Bax. 211. 12 4 Humph. 523; 7 Humph. 111. " S. C. 4273. 48 Child Welfare in Tennessee invest the same so that it will be satfe, under penalty of be- ing forced to pay interest himself after 4 months/ A guardian has the right to lease the lands of his ward during minority on condition that the tenant improves the land, keeps the premises in repair, does not commit waste, and does not cut timber, except for immediate use." He must, of course, pay lawful debts, but an order of court is required before any property may be sold to make such pay- ment,' and every such sale must be confirmed by the court/ The law requires the county court to make rules for the managing of the estates of minors, for the maintenance and education of minors, and also for the removal of guard- ians: 1. When the guardian wastes the estate or converts it to his own use. 2. When he is about or intends to marry his ward in disparagement. 3. When he mismanages the estate. 4. When he neglects to maintain or to educate his ward. • 5. When he or his sureties are insolvent or likely to be- come insolvent." Every guardian must show to the court a list of all prop- erty which comes into his hands,' must show every two years what property he holds for the use of the ward,' and must make to the court an annual report of receipts and dis- bursements.' With respect to the person of the wards it is the duty of the guardian: 1. To protect his ward. When the child resides with the guardian the lattfer's duties are those of a father." The law holds him responsible for the care and protection of the child just as it would hold a father. The guardian stands in the place of a father. 2. To supply the child with necessaries. The general rule is that the court will investigate expenditures for neces- 1 S. C. 4281, a-l, a-2. = S. C. 4283. a S. C. 4283. * S. C. 4287. « S. C. 4292. » S. C. 4292. ' S. C. 4295. » S. C. 4296. » Head 9. The Child and The State 49 saries/ The guardiar^ is required to show the necessity, and upon his failure to do so the court may disallow ,the charge-" 3. To educate his ward.' In regard to expenditures the general rule, is that the guardian may expend only the income and will not be allowed to trench upon the body of the estate unless ordered to do so by the court ;' but Chapter 148, Acts of 1919, empowers the chancery court to order the guardian to trench upon the body of. the estate for the support, education, and ipiainte- nance of the ward when the estate does not exceed 1,000 dollars.' Guardianship of a minor, male or female, terminates at 21 years, but the marriage of a female terminates the guar- dianship regardless of her age." A guardian may settle witli the husband of a female minor ward and pay over her money to him.' For consideration, it is suggested: 1." That a mother should have rights of custody equal to those of the father. 2. That neither father nor mother should have the right to deprive the other of the right of custody by will, deed, or otherwise. 3. That all matters relating to guardianship should be placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Contingency Ten^ — Defective Children. — A child may be in unfortunate circumstances even if both parents are liv- ing, or he may have other misfortunes in addition to the loss of one or both parents. The most usual cases are those of dependent, neglected, delinquent and defective chil- dren. Dependent, neglected, and delinquent children have already been referred to briefly and will be taken up again. This leaves for discussion at this point only defective chil- dren. For our purposes a defective child is held to be any child 1 21 Pickle 614. 2 10 Lea 228. s 11 Lea 151. * 3 Head 87; 6 Humph. 215; 3 Bax. 314. = Chapt. l48, 1919. s 10 Yer. 161. ^ 3 Bax. 249; 11 Lea 568. 50 Child Welfare in Tennessee who by reason of physical or mental infirmity is unable profitably to attend a public school. Under the law of the State every child of compulsory school age is presumed to be in the public school every day it is in session in his district, unless he is physically or mentally unable or unfit to attend school or unless there is other lawful excuse for absence. This being true, the yearly school census and the teacher's record should show the name of every child of compulsory age who is unable to attend school because of his infirmity. The school census and the teacher^s record should be the two books of account of children of compul- sory school age. a. Deaf and Dumb Children . — It is common knowledge in Tennessee that there is a large number of deaf and dumb children, and that such children can be taught and fitted for useful citizenship. The State requires normal children to attend school. It should also require deaf and dumb chil- dren to attend suitable schools. It is now generally accept- ed that the State should provide such schools, and it follows that children should be sent to them. It also follows that a school for, the deaf and dumb should be a part of the gen- eral educational system and, being a State school, should be so far as actual schooling goes, under the supervision and care of the State Department of Education. With these general statements, let us see what the situa- tion is in Tennessee. The school census does not show the deaf and dumb children, and no parent or guardian is re- quired to send his deaf and dumb child to any school.' The State does, however, have a school for deaf and dumb chil- dren, known as the Tennessee School for the Deaf and Dumb, located at Knoxville. It is under the control of the State Board of Administration, which manages all State institutions." Neither the State Superintendent of Public Instruction nor the State Board of Education has anything to do with the educational work of this school. The whole responsibility for the conduct of the school lies with the State Board of Administration.' 1 S. C. 1461, a-14. 2 S. C. 312, a-16 as amended by Chapt. 39, 1919. » S. C. 2664. The Child and The State 51 This school is for colored as well as white children, but separate accommodations are provided." The senator and representatives from each senatorial district have the right to select two indigent children who are to be given pref- erence above all others for attendance, and who may attend the school free/ This is discrimination. The school should be for all children of a class and not for selected ones, and all children of compulsory school age of this class should be in the school. For consideration, it is suggested that the whole law with reference to- schools for deaf and dumb children be rewritten so as to provide: 1. That a yearly census of all deaf and dumb children of school age be made. This, of course, should be a part of the general public school census. A more extensive blank form for the school census would give this. 2. That every parent or guardian be required to send his deaf and dumb child of compulsory school age to a suit- able school. The Tennessee Child' Welfare Commission thinks that the compulsory age for deaf and dumb children should be fixed at such age as experts deem advisable. 3. That parents or guardians who are able to do so be required to pay for the education of their deaf and dumb children and that deaf and dumb children with parents or guardians unable to educate them be educated at the expense of the State and county. The juvenile court should inves- tigate and determine the facts in each case. 4. That every institution, public or private, which re- ceives deaf and dumb children of compulsory school age should be required to have a course of study and teachers approved by the State Department of Education. The State Department of Education should have the supervision of the actual schooling of the children ; , but this would, of course, have to be left largely to the superintendent of the institution. 1 S. C. 2669. 2 S. C. 2667-8. 52 Child Welfare in Tennessee a. Blind Children. — Much of what has been said with re- gard to deaf and dumb children might well be said with reference to blind children. The yearly public school census should show all blind children of school age. Blind children can be taught, and their parents or guardians should be required to send them to a suitable school. State schools for the blind should be classed as educational institutions, and their educational work should be under the supervision of the State Department of Education. No census of blind children of school age is taken, and no parent or guardian is required by law to send his blind child to any school. The State Department of Education is, however, given somewhat more responsibility for the ed- ucation of blind than of deaf and dumb children in that it is authorized by law to provide for the maintenance and instruction of blind children who are not prepared to enter the State School for the Blind and whose parents are unable to maintain and educate them.' The law authorizes the State Board of Education to contract with private homes or institutions at not more than a dollar a day for the care of blind children not prepared for the State School for the Blind up to the age of 12 or even 16 in special cases.' The amount which may be expended by the State Board of Ed- ucation for all such children is limited by law to 2500 dol- lars in any one year.' As a matter of fact, the State Board of Education is not now expending any money for this purpose and, so far as could be learned by investigation, has never expended any. The act is significant, however, in that it recognizes the fact that the teaching of the blind up to the point where they a.re prepared to enter the State School for the Blind is one of the functions of the department of Education. But even if the State Department of Education should undertake to carry out the evident good intentions of this act, there would still be blind children of compulsory school, age out of school. There is no law to compel the parent or guardian 1 S. C. 2659, a-1. ^ S. C. 2659, a-2. » S. C. 2659, a-3. The Child and The State 53 of any blind child to send such child to any school. This matter is left absolutely with the parent or guardian. There is, however, a State School for the Blind. Thi& school is located at Nashville and is under the control of the State Board of Administration.' As in the case of the School for the Deaf and Dumb, th« very act indicates that the General Assembly was not conscious of the fact that all blind children of compulsory age should be compelled to attend ' a suitable school. Two children may be named from each senatorial district to attend the school free;"" and the children of indigent parents are to be preferred." Colored blind children are admitted, but cared for in separate ac- commodations.'. For consideration, it is suggested that the law govern- ing the education of blind children be rewritten and that it provide : 1. For a yearly school census of all blind children. 2. That every parent or guardian of a blind child of com- pulsory school age be required to send such child to a suit- able school. The Tennessee Child Welfare Commission thinks that the compulsory age for blind children should be fixed at such age as experts may deem advisable. 3. That the State Department of Education have the supervision of the course of study and actual teaching not only of the State School for the Blind but of all private schools for the blind which receive and teach children of compulsory school age. 4. Parents and guardians who are able should be re- quired to pay for the teaching and care of blind children in the State School. If they are unable, the expenses should be borne by the State and county. The ability or inability of the parent to pay should be determied by the juvenile court. c. Crippled Children . — There are some private and semi- public institutions in Tennessee which give care and treat- 1 S. C. 312, a-6; 2647, 48; Chapt. 39, 1919. 2 s. C. 2652. ^S. C. 2654. * S. C. 2656. 54 Child Welfare in Tennessee ment to defective children, but the State has made but little, and indeed we might say no, provision for insuring proper care and treatment of children who are crippled or other- wise physically incapacitated to attend the public school. It does not undertake to get any record of such children through the school census or otherwise. Of course the general law with respects to the exposure, neglect and abandonment of a child applies to crippled and all other abnormal as well as to normal children. If the child happens to be a pauper or the child of indigent par- ents, he will fall in the first instance into the hands of county Commissioners of the Poor. This is a body of three members appointed by the county court, one each year for a term of three years and each removable at the will of the county court.' The Commissioners of the Poor have the power to expend public funds for the relief of a crippled child or any other child in need, but the law does not con- template that treatment be given in any asylum, or insti- tution unless the county court shall have established such institution or shall make an allowance for outdoor relief.' It has, however, been held that expenditure for the relief of paupers is a proper charge against the general funds of the county;' and that the commissioners of the poor may be indicted for failure to provide proper care for poor per- sons.* This, of course, applies to crippled and other poor children. If a county asylum has been established, a crippled pau- per child would probably be sent to it by the Commissioners of the Poor." If no asylum has been established, our cripple might be placed with the person who has contracted to care for the poor. In either case he would be under the super- vision of the Commissioners of the Poor." The crippled child, if a pauper, might be left in a private home with an allow- ance made for its support by the county court, which may not, however, be more than would be required for his mainte- 1 S. C. 268, 2; 14 Lea 38. - S. C, 2705. » 9 Gates 327. * 14 Lea 38. S. C. 2690. « S. C. 2699. The Child and The State 55 nance at the county asylum or poorhouse.' This would in all _ probability prevent proper treatment. If our crippled happened to be an orphan or an illegitimate child, it might lawfully be bound out;' but this is not at all probable, as only healthy children are sought as apprentices. In cases of apprenticeship, work and plenty of it is what is generally sought. A crippled child might be placed in a hospital which has contracted with the county court to care for the indigent sick or injured' and, being an indigent child, would naturally be treated by the county health officer or physician." No in- formation was to be had to show how many county boards have such contracts with hospitals; but, since Tennessee is very largely a rural State, it is certain that there are but few. If a county tuberculosis hospital has been established, our crippled pauper might be sent there if found to be af- flicted with tuberculosis ;' but this is not at all probable, as there is no provision in the law for the admission of in- digent patients without pay." In fact, such county tuber- culosis hospitals are too few to have any very substantial effect. There might be another chance for our cripple. Where a child is under 16 years of age and his father is dead or physically disabled, he might be benefited by an allowance made to his mother for his relief and benefit. The law authorizes any county court to appropriate public funds up to the amount of 4,000 dollars a year for such purpose.' Where there is but one child the amount may not exceed 10 dollars a month ; where more than one, the amount allow- ed cannot exceed ten dollars a month for the first child and five dollars for each additional child.' The allowance is fixed by the juvenile court under the following conditions: 1. That the child lives with the mother. 2 That the mother, who wquld otherwise have to work away, stays at home. 1 S. C. 2705. 2 s. C. 2706, 8. » s, C. 2706, a-1. * S. C. 2706, a-61. 5 S. C. 2706, a-7. " S. C. 2706, a-8. ' S. 0^2708, a-1. ^ s. C. 2708, a-2. 56 Child Welfare in. Tennessee 3. That the mother is a fit person to care for her chil- dren. - 4. That the allowance will save the child from neglect.' The court may discontinue or change the allowance at any time, and it ceases when the child reaches the age of 16." When there is not suificient funds for all cases, the juvenile court must select the most needy ones.' Children for whose benefit any allowance is made are under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court as long as such allowance is continued.* But few children can at present hope for any relief or aid from this source. Funds have been appropriated and the law is in operation in but very few counties. If a crippled child has parents or a guardian able to give it care, the chances are, of course, very much better; but even in these better cases there is not sufficient assurance that prop- er care will be given. All parents are not wise and often excessive love for a defective child and consequent unwill- ingness to be separated from it serves to rob it of proper care. For consideration, it is suggested that the General As- sembly should make provision for the care and treatment of crippled and physically disabled children and that the law should provide: 1. That the name of every child of compulsory school age who is unable to attend the public school because of physical defects be shown on the school census. 2. That juvenile courts have the right to order the treat- ment of crippled children and reasonable payment for the same out of the public funds of the county. In case a State institution is established, the right of a child to admission without pay should be determined by the juvenile court; and if admitted as a free patient, the expense should be borne by the State and the county. d. Feeble-Minded Children.^ Up to the year 1919 no spe- cial provision had been made for feeble-minded children; 1 S. C. 2708, a-3. 2 S. C. 2708, a-4. " S. C. 2708, a-5. ■• S. C. 2708, a-8 The Child and The State 57 but the General Assembly of that year passed the "Mental Deficiency Act," which undertakes to establish a Home and Training School for Feeble- Minded Persons." The home has not yet been established, and the act has not therefore been put into operation. The act defines a feeble-minded person as one who is un- able to care for himself or to manage his own affairs, who is a menace to himself and others, and who requires care, supervision, and control. The father or mother, whichever has the custody of the child, or any health or school officer, may apply for the child's admission to the Home and Train- ing School, and after examination, the child, if found to be feeble-minded, may be admitted by the superintendent. When admitted the child comes under the exclusive care, control, and custody of the institution until paroled or dis- charged. When the feeble-minded has an estate or relations able to support it, the institution fixes the amount to be paid yearly for support. The feeble-minded may also be committed to the Home and Training School by chancery, circuit, and county courts. Any relative or other person may file a petition to have the child declared feeble-minded, and it is the duty of every county health officer and county superintendent of educa- tion to have feeble-minded persons committed. No court may adjudge any one to be feeble-minded or commit him to the institution until a statement is made by two physicians that they have examined him and found him to be feeble- minded, and the court may require other evidence. The parents, guardian, or some near relative must be noti- fied of the proceeding. Whoever has the child in charge is ordered by summons to bring it into court. Every investi- gation must be held in the presence of both the person al- leged to be feeble-minded and the judge; but the public may, in the discretion of the judge, be excluded. If at any time any judge finds in the case of a person charged with a crime or juvenile delinquency that there 1 S. C. Chapt. 150, 1919. 58 Child Welfare in Tennessee is reason to believe that the person so charged, is feeble- minded, it is his duty to order an inquiry and, if it is found that he is feeble-minded, to commit him to an institution. No feeble-minded person charged with a crime, except those charged with murder or rape, may be committed to any in- stitution other than the Home and Training School. Any person or persons wishing to conduct a private home or school for the feeble-minded is required to obtain a license from the Secretary of State, issued upon the certificate of the Board of State Charities, which certificate will be granted only after inquiry into the qualifications of the applicants and inspection of the premises. The license is good for one year only and may be revoked by the Secretary of State upon the recommendation of the Board of State Charities. The institution when established will be under the control of the State Board of Administration. Power is given to this Board to transfer inmates from any State Hospital to the Home and Training School, or from the Home and Train- ing School to a State Hospital. When there is an estate or relatives legally bound, the amount to be contributed yearly is fixed by the superintendent or in the case of a commitment by a parent or guardian without a hearing. The General Assembly appropriated 10,000 dollars for the establishment of the institution and provided that the num- ber of patients to be received should be prorated among the different counties according to population. No person under seven or over fifty years of age may be received. . The Mental Deficiency Act, in so far as it goes, is a valu- able piece of constructive legislation. If put into general operation, it ought to go far in solving the problems of feeble-mindedness. The very best thing that could be done would be for the General Assembly to provide funds for the establishment of the institution and thereby give the Board of Administration a chance to show what can be done. It is, however, unfortunate that three distinct courts should have concurrent jurisdiction as to commitments. Only one court should have such jurisdiction, and the juvenile court is the proper one to be charged with this duty when the case is that of a child. The Child and The State 59 There are two reasons why defective as well as other children suffer from neglect: first, because of the fact that neither the State nor any county provides sufficient funds for the care of defective children who are really in need; and second, because there is no one in the county to look after them. Either the State or the county or the two acting jointly should make provision for the care of every child, whatever his condition, and there should be in every county some sort of social agent to follow up every one of these defective children for the purpose of seeing that they do receive proper care. There is no other way to insure its being done. For consideration, it is suggested: 1. That provision be made for a social agent. 2. That provision be made for sufficient funds with which to care for crippled or otherwise defective children. The Tennessee Child Welfare Commission recommended and urged immediate action for carrying out and enforcing the provisions of the Mental Deficiency Act.' CRIMINAL LAWS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN The State, realizing that the father, actual or substitute, may not always be able to give full care and protection to his child and that he may -in fact be sometimes unwilling to do so, has enacted certain criminal laws other than those already given for the protection of children. Against the Person. — It is unlawful to expose a child to the weather with intent to injure." In Tennessee persons found to be guilty of rape may be punished with death. The law makes carnal knowledge of a female child under twelve years of age a crime punishable as rape ;' and to assault a female child under twelve with in- tent to have carnal knowledge of her is a crime punishable as in cases of rape." It is a felony for any man or boy to / 1 Chapt. 150, 1919. 2 S. C. 6466. ^ S. C. 6455. * S. C. 6456. 60 CHiLiD Welfare in Tennessee have sexual intercourse with a girl over twelve and under twenty-one years of age, except when the parties are hus- band and wife. Conviction may not be had, however, upon the unsupported testimony of the female, and the person charged will not be held guilty if the girl is over twelve years of age and is shown to be a bawd, lewd or a kept female.' The age of consent of girls for sexual intercourse should be raised from twelve to sixteen, but where the male is of juvenile court age his oifense should be an act of delinquency only. In this connection attention should be called to the fact that it is not a crime for a female to cause boys to become depraved or to entice them into sexual intercourse. Boys as well as girls need protection, and the law in so far as it can .should give it to them. The Tennessee Child Welfare Commission declares that no child under seventeen years of age should be sentenced to death. Against Property . — The law very properly declares that no person under eighteen years of age may be convicted of embezzlement' and just as properly throws the burden of showing his age upon the defendant.' He has the best means of showing his age. Against Public Health. — It is unlawful, to sell to any child under ten years of age any poison without ithe written order of the child's parent or guardian.' Against Public Morals . — To beget a child on the body of a wife's sister is a felony;" but it has been held that this does not apply if the wife is dead." This law belongs to other times. Begetting a child is an incident. If the State really desires to reach the evil, it should make it a felony for any one to have intercourse with a brother-in-law or a sister-in-law, and where the. parties are of age it is just as bad for the woman to do so as the man. 1 S. C. 6456. 2 S. C. 6756; 1 Gates 22. *> 1 Gates 22, * S. C. 6748. S. C. 6767. » 16 Pickle 596. The Child and The State 61 It is unlawful to introduce any obscene book into any family or school or to have the same to sell, loan, , exhibit, circulate, or introduce ;' it is also unlawful to disturb or to disquiet the pupils or teachers of any female school or to communicate with the pupils for this purpose." or to loiter around such school or along the roads or streets passing to it." Against Public Policy. — The sale of intoxicating liquor to any person being now forbidden, it may appear to be useless to give the special laws relating to children with reference to this subject, but for information it may be well to state that it is unlawful : to sell, give, or deliver intoxicating liquor to any student,* to send any minor to any place where liquor is sold for the purpose of procuring it," or for any dealer to deliver any liquor to any minor." It is unlawful to sell, give away, keep in stock, or bring into the State for the purpose of selling or giving away any cigarettes or cigarette paper ;' or to sell, give or furnish to- bacco in any form to a child under eighteen years of age without the permission of the child's parent or guardian;' to sell or offer for sale any toy pistol ;° to bet with a minor or to allow any minor to bet at any gaming table or device';" for any proprietor of a tenpin alley to allow any child under ten years of age to play after being forbidden in writing by the child's parent or guardian;" or to permit any minor to play at billards or pool unless th^ written consent of the parent, guardian, or teacher has been obtained."" Except for the changes already suggested with reference to sexual intercourse, no suggestions for consideration are made for changes in the strictly criminal law. The fact is that strictly criminal laws, except those involving a viola- tion of some legal duty, do not play any great part in the lives of children. Strictly criminal laws are concerned with the intent, and but few persons intentionly do hurt to a child. 1 S. C 6770. ^, S. ,C. 6779,, arl. ...^ S, C. 6779, a-2. * S. C 6785. 5 S. C. 6792, a-1. « S. C. 6793. ' S. C. 6798, a-49. s Chapt. 32, 1919. ' S. C. 6654. 10 S. C. 6823. " S. C. 6825. 12 S. C. 6826. 62 Child Welfare in Tennessee Neglect on the part of the parent, guardian, or the State is the chief reason why most children do not come to their best. For this reason we should give attention to the con- structive law and those agencies which undertake to do some- thing, rather than to the criminal law, which is necessarily largely of a negative character. ADMINISTRATION Up to this point I have presented and discussed the stand- ards for child care fixed by the law, but laws are of little effect unless properly administered. In fact, administra- tion is more vital in the field of child welfare than the law itself. Other members of the staff of the National Child Labor Committee discuss in other chapters such matters of administration as come within their province, and it is un- necessary for me to enter at any length into a similar dis- cussion. There are, however, a few matters of administra- tion to Which I desire to call attention because of their im- portance. 1. The State of Tennessee has not fixed upon any definite policy of State administration. In one department you will find a board, and in another a commissioner. The Governor sometimes has the right to appoint under-officers who are to work for either the board or the commissioner, and in certain cases work which should be assigned to a depart- ment is made almost, if not entirely, independent of that department. The Governor has a very large appointive power, but the State is not at all committed to the cabinet system of government- On the whole, Tennessee is inclined to the administration of its different departments by boards appointed by the Governor. This is good, and it is here suggested that the board system be carried out to its logical end— that is, that such boards as the Board of Health and the Board of Edu- cation be given, under>the law, entire control of the manage- ment of their respective departments. This would mean that the selection of the secretary or other chief executive The Child and The State 63 officer and all other officers be given to the different boards and that all work which should logically be placed under any board be assigned to it by law. The State Board of Health should have entire control of the State Health De- partment, including the work of insuring pure food and drugs and should select all its agents from the secretary down. The same is true of the Board of Education, of the Board of State Charities, and of the proposed State Board of Labor. This is an important matter in Tennessee for the reason that the Governor is elected for a term of two years only. The policy of these boards should run through a long term of • years, and no Governor should have the right to interrupt this policy either by a complete change of the membership of the board or by a change of its agents. The people of Tennessee have recognized this, as is shown by the fact that they are in the habit of electing their governor for two terms instead of one, thereby insuring in some degree a more permanent policy for the different departments. The short- er the term of the chief executive the more stable the mem- bership and office of those in control of the different depart- ments should be made. 2 The educational system of the State of Tenessee is not a unit. Its county schools are run generally under the county board system, but sometimes under the old director system, and in either case high schools are under the con- trol of separate high school boards. The public schools of cities and towns are conducted under separate and special charters. The State Department of Education does not issue certificates to the teachers in the public schools of cities and towns. The result is that, 'instead of there being a State school system, there is a large number of small systems. Every teacher in any public school or in any private school receiving and teaching pupils of compulsory school age should be required to hold a State certificate. There should be no special charters for public schools; but all should be conducted under the general law to the end that, so far as possible, every child in the State may be given that educa- '64 Child Welfare in Tennessee tion which the State holds to be the, minimum for successful living. The whole system should be controlled by the State Board of Education, and public education in each county should be controlled by the county Board of Education. County high school boards should be abolished, and the work which they are now doing should be placed under the county Board of Education. The county superintendent of Public Instruction should be selected by the county Board of Education. Large cities may be allowed to conduct their public schools on the' same plan as the public schools of any county are conducted — that is through a city Board of Education. There is a yery important field of work to which no public officer is now assigned — namely, that of the care of children in need of special attention who are not in any institution. This should belong properly to the Bo3,rd of State Charities, but it cannot possibly do the work unless a county agent is provided. It is, therefore, suggested that the Board of State Charities be authorized to appoint a County Welfare Board, to serve without pay and to consist of three members, one to serve for a term of two years, one for four years, and one for six years, and their successors thereafter to serve for a term of six years. This board should be empowered to act as the agent and representative of the Board of State Charities in the exercise of all powers and the discharge of all duties reposed by law in it and in all matters affecting the care of children. It should be required to co-operate with the county Board of Education and with the juvenile dourt to the end that proper care be given to every child liv- ing in the county. This board should be authorized in its discretion to appoint a county welfare superintendent at such salary as the county court may fix, provided that every such county welfare superintendent hold the certificate of the Board of State Charities. In another chapter ,it is suggested that all probation offi- cers be appointed by the judge of the juvenile court and that, in addition to their other duties, they be charged with mak- ing inyestigationa for mothers' pensions which are admin- The Child and The State 65 istered by the juvenile court. The compensation of such probation officers should be fixed by the county court. In still another chapter it is suggested that the county Board of Education be required to employ an attendance officer and to fix his compensation to be paid out of the public school funds of that county. The judge of the juvenile court should have the right to appoint the school attendance officer as probation officer, provided that such apointment be approv- ed by the county Board of Education. In this case his \Com- pensation should be fixed jointly by the county Board of Ed- ucation and the county court and should be paid in pairt from the public funds of the county and in part from the school funds of the county, as may be agreed. The law should be amended so that : a. Every county will have a school attendance officer paid out of the public school funds of the county. b. The juvenile, court of every county will have a pro- bation officer appointed by the judge of the juvenile court, with his compensation fixed by the county court. In the larger counties there should, of course, be more than one probation officer. c. The law should allow these two officers to be coftibined into one when the county Board of Education, the county court, and the judge of the juvenile court agreed to such com- bination, and in that case the compensation should be fixed by the county court and the county Board of Education, to be paid partly out of the general funds and partly out of the public school funds. d. There should be in every county a County Welfare Board consisting of three members appointed by the Board of State Charities'. This board should have the right to appoint a county welfare superintendent at such sum as the county court may fix, and the person appointed should be approved by the Board of State Charities. In counties with a large population there is ample work for a school attendance officer, a probation officer, and a county welfare superintendent, and three persons should be provided for these offices. In counties with smaller popula- 66 Child Welfare in Tennessee tion it will perhaps be found wise to have but one officer a combination school attendance and probation officer. If there should be no county welfare superintendent, the County Welfare Board should, of course, co-operate with this combination officer. This arrangement ought to add strength not only to the county superintendent of education and to the juvenile court but also to the Board of State Charities. It should be no hard matter for this board to find in each county three competent persons who would be glad, with- out any compensation whatever, either directly or through their appointee, to take the oversight of every child in need of or liable to come in need of care, and to act not only as its representative but also as the social agent of the county. It is to be hoped that in time every County Welfare Board will find the county court ready to provide funds for the pay- ment of a, full-time county welfare superintendent. Until that day comes the Board of State Charities and the social work of the county will have to depend upon a volunteer County Welfare Board. CHAPTER II. HEALTH BY H. H. MITCHELL, M.D. Introduction. — Preventable disease is holding back prog- ress in Tennessee more than in the United States as a whole. The failure of the State to prevent disease and the lack of sufficient scientific medical service fall particularly hard upon children. The needless suffering, loss of life, and economic waste are largely due to the fact that the people do not know what the conditions are or how they can be im- proved. This inquiry was undertaken to determine what the conditions affecting children are, what is being done to correct them, and what means should be adopted for dealing with the health problems of the State. In 1917 over 3,000 persons died from diseases of an intes- tinal character occasioned to a great extent by iniproper disposal of filth ; many thousand children suffer every year from the effects of hookworm; and easily 50,000 children are made invalids a part of each year by malaria. These conditions are not the only ones that Tennesseeans must face if they are to protect the health of children, but are mentioned first because their control is largely a matter of improving the environment — ^for instance, by providing pure water supplies or sanitary sewage disposal or draining mosquito swamps. There have been many demonstrations in the South that prove the efficacy of modern methods for preventing these diseases. The State Board of Health of Tennessee has recently made several such demonstrations and has laid the foundation for an extensive program of disease prevention, but progress will be very slow unless public support is given to a modern public health movement 68 Child Welfare in Tennessee and particularly to the program of its leader, the State Board of Health. In order that it may be understood how serious conditions are in Tennessee, how urgent the need for proper support of present and future efforts for promoting public health, this study will discuss: first, diseases of environment, their ef- fects upon children, and the conditions favoring their spread : second, other preventable diseases; third, the health of school children and conditions in the schools affecting it; and, fourth, infant and maternal mortality, and the health of children of pre-school age. The State's work in promot- ing the health of children will be discussed from the stand- point of what has been accomplished as well as its limited scope and its insufficiency to meet the situation ; and, finally, there will be offered specific suggestions for its extension and development. DISEASES OF ENVIRONMENT. One of the greatest causes of children's ill health in Ten- nessee is a general lack of understanding of the impor- tance of a few principles of sanitation. Filth is not properly disposed of in any Tennessee city or town or, as a rule, in country homes. Many, probably most, homes use drinking water which is either actually dangerous or, because of in- adequate protection, may become so at any time. Very little of the milk or food is prevented from carrying infections. In the western section and part of Middle Tennessee the malaria-carrying mosquito is common and flourishes almost unrestrained. Tennessee in 1917 had the greatest number of deaths from typhoid fever per hundred thousand inhabitants of any State in the United States registration area. During the last two years there has been a considerable decrease in the number of deaths from this cause, but the rate is still much in excess of twice that of the United States registration area for 1918. Health ■ 69 typhoid fever death rate per 100,000 inhabitants. U. S. Tennessee Registration California Massachusetts 1915 39.8 12.4 9.7 6.7 1916 37.1 13.3 7.1 4.7 1917 38.2 13.4 7.2 4.8 1918 29.8 12.4 1919 27.8' A study of the average death rate from typhoid by coun- ties for the five-year period from 1915 to 1919 shows groups of counties where the disease seems to be particularly prev- alent. (See Figure I.) The death rate of four counties which are in about the center of four typhoid foci, averaged for five years, are tw'ice as high as the rates for the 11 origi- nal registration States 20 years ago. Dysentery results from the same causes as typhoid, and, for 1917, the only year as yet tabulated for this disease, the death rate in Tennessee was over three times that in the United States registration area. Intensive Surveys . — Actual house-to-house surveys by the State Board of Health, with the co-operation of the Interna- tional Health Board, show a prevalence of typhoid and dysen- tery in 3 rural communities, as follows: Community A 1 Year of survey 1919 Area included 14 sq. miles Population 577 number of homes 111 (64 cases of typhoid with 3 deaths in five years. (61 Cases dysentery with 4 deaths in 5 B 1919 9 sq. miles 610 130 years. (14 cases of typhoid with 2 deaths in 5 C 1918 > 20 sq. miles 567 122 years. (16 cases enteritis or dysentery, with 5 deaths in 5 years. ( 105 cases of typhoid with 1 death in 5 years. (94 cases dysentery with 4 deaths from dysentery of enter- itis in 5 years. 1 Rate calculated on population estimate based on 1920 census, other rates calculated on population estimates based on 1910 census. 70 Child Welfare in Tennessee In community "A," it will be noted, there was, on the average, either a case of typhoid or dysentery in every home and more than one out of every five persons had one of these diseases in the five years. These two diseases caused a higher rate of death per unit of the population in this com- munity every year for five years than any other single cause of death in the United States registration area during the last 20 years. -When conditions in this community are considered, one's surprise is not owing so much to the disease incidence as to the fact that it was no greater. Although most of the homes are closely grouped together in a small village and the whole territory covers an area of not over 14 square miles, 28 per cent of the homes had no place to dispose of filth and their bodily wastes except the surface of the ground; and all of the other homes, except two, used open-back privies with the contents exposed to flies, chickens, pigs, and other small animals. Forty-eight per cent of the homes obtained their water supply from open dug wells or springs, and many of these were situated dangerously near these accumulations of filth. There was .no appreciation of the danger of drinking this water. In this limestone region it comes largely from underground streams in the crevices of the rock without opportunity to become purified by filtration and may drain a barnyard, a privy vault, or other source of filth. Flies were plentiful in this community, as there were many ma- nure piles and other collections of filth where they breed, and yet 73 per cent of the homes either had no screens or were only partially screened. Similar surveys of other communities show that such con- ditions are not uncommon in Tennessee, but the response given to the proposals and demonstrations of the State Board of Health, in co-operation with the International Health Board, shows that, serious as they are and however ingrained by custom, they can be corrected. In "A" com- munity a three months' demonstration convinced the people that these diseases were too prevalent, that they could be prevented, and that money invested in public health measures brought large returns. When the people of the Health 71 community learned that the county court had turned down an appropriation for continuing the activities of the county health unit in their county, -they demanded that the prop- osition be reconsidered at the next session of the court. The result was that a satisfactory appropriation was made in spite of the fact that those who advocated it realized that the work would be carried on thereafter in other com- munities of the county instead of their own: In "B" community the death rate from typhoid and dysen- tery was nearly as high, although there had been fewer cases. The sanitary conditions were quite simila.r ; 31 homes or 23 per cent of the homes had no privy, not even a shelter for the sake of privacy, although this community had a larger popu- lation in a smaller area than "A" community. Not a single home had a sanitary toilet, and all the privies had their contents open at the rear and exposed to flies and small animals. Sixty-seven per cent of the homes had their privies too near their source of water supply, 57 per cent had no screens, and 71 per cent were not sufficiently screened. Only 3 of the 130 homes had driven wells, while the remain- der used open wells or springs. In "C" community conditions were, if possible, even worse, as 74 out of the 122 homes had no privies, and the others had the same exposed accumulations of filth. Most of the homes used drinking water that was obviously unsafe; 78 per cent used open wells or springs of doubtful purity; 60 per cent of the wells were less than 30 feet deep and locat- ed in most cases without regard to protection from privies ; 70 per cent of the homes were either unscreened or only partially screened. More than 1 case of typhoid or dysen- tery for every 3 persons in the community in a period of 5 years is a high price to pay for this disregard of sanitation. These three communities can well afford to pay for such State and county public health service as would make cases of typhoid and dysentery rare. Community "A" is a small, prosperous, white industrial community in Eastern Ten- nessee, 42 per cent of whose families own their homes. Community "B" is an agricultural community in the fertile farm land of one of the richest counties in the State, 42 per 72 Child Welfare in Tennessee cent of its population being negro and half of its families owning their homes. Community "C" is also located in a rich agricultural county, 90 per cent of the families being white and 71 per cent owning their homes. If their typhoid fever rate had been the same as California's, instead of 183 cases of typhoid in these 3 communities in 5 years, they would have had only 7. California spends 3 or 4 times as much on her state health work as Tennessee spends. Conclusions. — The high prevalence of these diseases throughout the State ind(icates that "A," "B," and "C" communities are exceptions only in that they have suffered a little more from the effects of a wholesale disregard of the principles of sanitation. The map (Fig. 1) giving the death rates for typhoid fever by counties for the last 5 years shows that nearly all counties have suffered from this disease more than the average for the whole United States registration area, including 4 other Southern States. The following table shows how "A," "B," and "C" com- munities compare with the counties in which they are situat- ed and with the ten counties where surveys have been made as to certain conditions affecting the public health : Places surveyed Co. of Com. Co. of Com, Co. of Com. Total of Com. A A Com. B B Com. C C 10 count- Total No. of com- *ie3 munities in coun- ties surveyed. __ 3 19 19 1 Population com. surveyed 1296 577 3656 610 2836 567 19,182 White Race ._ ^— 100% 100% 64.8% 57.4% 81% 90% 80.7% Colored Race 35.1% 42.6% 19% 10% 19.2% Owners 51% 42% 59% 50.4% 66.8% 71% 64.8% Tenants 49% 58% 41% 49.6% 32.2% 29% 35.8% Homes with open wells or springs. 49% 48% 51.9% 77.4% 61% 78% 47.54% Homes with driv- en wells 42% 49% 23.3% 2.5% 30.9% 22% 36.10% Homes with cis- terns or unknown source of water supply .'... 9% 3% 24.5% 20.1% 18.1% 16.31% Health 73 Places surveyed Co. of Com. Co. of Com. Co. of Com. Total of Com. A A Com. B B Com. C C 10 count- Homes with privy ti^s dangerously near water supply __ 74% 48% 66.1% 67.9% 78.1% 72% 73.3% Homes not screen- ed or only partly screened 66% 73% 55.3% 71.5% 53.97% 70% 54.94% Homes screened- 34% 27% 44.6% 28.4% 46.03% 30% 45.06% Homes with sani- tary privy 1.8% 1.8% 1.9% 1.1% Homes with un- sanitary privy _ 67% 69.4% 81.9% 76.2% 79.4% 39.4% Homes with no privy or other sewage disposal 31.2% 28.8% 16.2% 23.8% 19.5% 60.6% (Incl. 3 communities with only 2 homes with no privy.) Other surveys, together with the observations of the writer and inspections and observations of representatives of the State Board of Health, make it fairly safe to assume that the conditions in the ten counties, representing as they do actual conditions in communities where over 19,000 per- sons live, are not very different from the average in Ten- nessee. It will be noted that these data show almost unbeliev- able ^conditions as regard the disposal of human excreta, disregard for the purity of rural water supplies, and indif- ference to the need for screening even where there is every indication that disease is being spread by flies and mosqui- toes. The remedy for these conditions necessitates, first, some recognition by the people of their seriousness. The ex- perience of the country with federal and State aid in agri- cultural improvement suggests strongly that progress in rural sanitation will require similar assistance and advice. The results already secured in rural Tennessee by the county health unit demonstrations of the State Board of Health and the International Health Board show how quickly Ten- nesseeans recognize the relation between cause and effect when the problem is approached in a practical manner. Figures 2 and 3 show by simple graphs how Davidson County and Nashville, under wartime directSon of the United States Public Health Service, reduced. their typhoid fever cases by much the same methods as are now being employed by the 74 Child Welfare in Tennessee county health units. According to the calculations shown in the report of the representatives of the United States Public Health Service to the Davidson County Court, there was the saving of approximately $160,000 as compared with the year before the work began) which was from 20 to 25 times the annual cost of the work. Typhoid inoculations would prevent most of the typhoid fever, as was the case in the United States army. In 1916 the State Board of Health inoculated 2,425 persons as a part of their county health unit efforts, and in 1919 this number was increased to 7,163, but this is a small percentage of the population, and at this rate the disease will never be con- trolled, although thousands of vaccinations are made an- nually by private physicians and health officers. Individ- uals should use this protection, but the State must meet the underlying cause described and thereby control several other intestinal diseases. Town and City Water Supplies. — A recent study of the public water supplies in 43 towns and cities of Tennessee by an expert sanitary engineer of the United States Public Health Service showed that 39.55 per cent were polluted with sewage and 23.25 per cent to such an extent that they were a menace to health at all times. Only 23.25 per cent of the supplies could be classed as pure or of such purity as to permit their use on interstate trains by the United States Treasury Department. Such conditions are largely respon- sible for the sickness and deaths from typhoid fever, dysen- tery, and other diarrheal diseases. It was noted by the writer that in several cities water from a polluted river was being pumped directly into mains to be consumed by thousands of people. Such water in most cases is little more than diluted sewage, and the people are actually drinking the sewage poured into the rivier by other cities a few miles upstream. One city that was drinking the sewage of one of the 4 big cities of Tennessee had invested about $50,000 in a filtration plant, and yet the people were not protected and the superintendent of the waterworks told the, writer that they might as well take the water direct Health ■ 75 from the river. The State had failed to provide expert ser- vice to advise them as to what should have been done in the first place and later as to the faults of their poorly construct- ed and badly operated water plant. Another large city using river water polluted with' sewage from another big city had a filtration plant worth at least $75,000, but con- sumed diluted sewage because it failed to employ a trained man to operate the filter. The man operating the plant ad- mitted that he knew nothing about filtration, and yet any in- telligent citizen, if the matter were explained to him, would be glad to pay the 25 cents per capita per year necessary to employ an expert. Tennessee has failed to provide a sanitary engineer to advise cities and towns how they can economically obtain a pure water supply, and because of the lack of such service there has been a great amount of money wasted in water supply plants. Recently, through the enterprise of the Secretary of the State Board of Health, the services of a sanitary engineer have been given to Tennessee by the United States Public Health Service in order to make such a demonstration as will convince the people of the value of such work. Requests for his advice and service are coming from all over the State. Hookworm. — Another effect of these unsanitary condi- tions is a serious prevalence of hookworm disease among the children of 77 counties surveyed since 1911 ; 34 counties showed 30 per cent or more of the children between 6 and 18 years of age infected. At least 200 persol(is were examin- ed in each survey. Seventeen counties showed an infection rate of over 50 per cent of the 12,789 persons examined. Two counties showed infection rates of 71.5 and 73.3 per cent, 540 persons having been examined. In spite of the efforts of the International Health Board of the Rockefeller Foundation during the last 9 years, there is not sufficient appreciation of the seriousness of this disease in Tennessee. A relatively large number of physi- cians do not recognize or treat it. Many people, including unprogressive physicians, were convinced that the disease 76 Child Welfare in Tennessee was prevalent several years ago when the surveys were made, but now believe that the "scare is over." The more re- cent work of the International Health Board has been direct- ed at the cause of the disease rather than a demonstration of its continued prevalence, but of course neither it nor the State Board of Health has treated all the children or adults infected. Sanitary surveys show that the conditions which caused the disease in 1914 and 1915 are still prevalent, and physicians who have microscopes or who send laboratory specimens to the larger cities seem to find as much hook- worm among their patients as in 1914. In one of the larger cities, where all the patients coming to a large hospital through a considerable period in 1918 were examined for hookworm, 18 per cent were found to be harboring the para- site. The eradication of hookworm demands that every person carrying the infection shall be treated and cured and that the soil pollution causing its spread shall be stopped. Neither of these steps has as yet been fully taken in Ten- nessee. The State Board of Health and all the progressive mem- bers of the medical profession may proclaim the prevalence and the effects of hookworm, but they are not known by the country man whose children suffer from the disease. The people of Tennessee must learn of the dwarfed and back- ward school children who have shown phenomenal gains in weight, vitality, mental alertness, and progress in school directly following the elimination of these parasites from their intestines. They must know of the mental tests given to children in North Carolina and in Australia by which it has been shown that the disease produces mental sluggish- ness and retards mental development in proportion to the number of parasites harbored by each victim and in pro- portion to the time during which the infection persists. They should know that in the late war, examinations of 10,000 white men in the United States army who harbored the disease showed that 33 per cent were below normal mentally. They must know of the demonstrations in Costa Rica, in India, and in British Guiana of marked increase in Health 77 work and earning capacity of laborers following their treat- ment for hookworm. Furthermore, it must be commonly- known how hookworm disease is spread, that its presence is not recognized in the early stages of the infection, that a laboratory test gives the diagnosis, that treatment allevi- ates the interference with both mental and physical develop- ment, and that the longer the disease persists and the severer the infection, the less will be the improvement both mentally and physically when the child is finally treated. And above all, they must know that such conditions can be prevented only at their source through improved sanitation. Malari a. — The suffering of children from malaria in West- ern and Middle Tennessee should have the consideration of every person in the State. The disease is prevalent among children and it is a conservative estimate that over 50,000 children under 20 years of age suffered from the disease in the State during 1918 and 1919. In some communities sur- veyed by the State Board of Health as many as half of the people were found to have been victims of the disease during the last five years. A survey of 31,459 persons in Mississippi in 1916 demontrated that 50 per cent of the cases occur among persons under 20 years of age and that approximately 15 per cent of all the malaria falls in the age group from 5 to 9 years inclusive. There have been repeated demonstra- tions of the practicability of its control. The problem is then one of informing the people how insidiously it attacks children and cuts down the efficiency of its men and women and yet how readily it can be eradicated by practical methods of dealing with their environment. The disease cannot be controlled without controlling the people themselves. In 1917 Tennessee had the second highest death rate from malaria of all States in the United States registration area. Memphis at the same time had the highest rate of all reg- istration cities in the United States of over 100,000 inhabit- ants. This rate, however, appears to have been on the de- crease during the two succeeding years. It is safe to pre- dict, nevertheless, that unless active measures are taken by 78 Child Welfare in Tennessee the people to control it, this disease will seriously inter- fere with the progress of the western part of the State because of the physical degeneration it entails. If we average death rates from malaria in Tennessee for the last five years, we shall minimize the error in the re- turns. The average for this period shows 17 counties with death rates in excess of the highest State rate in the United States registration area for 1917. (See Fig. 3) In the 11 Southern States 63 cities with over 10,000 in- habitants were included in the United States registration area ■ in 1917. Of all cities in the registration area in that year, Vicksburg, Miss., had the highest death rate from malaria — viz., 77.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. In Tennessee 2 counties had average rates for the last five years 22 per cent higher than Vicksburg; and 7 counties had average rates higher than that of the third highest city of the registration area in 1917. Extended studies of the United States Public Health Service and the Interna- tional Health Board have shown that from 300 to 400 cases of malaria are found in a community each year for every death occuring, so we may safely estimate that in each of the 17 counties mentioned there was at least 1 case of malaria each year for every 7 to 10 inhabit- ants. In the 7 Tennessee counties mentioned there was one person sick wih malaria each year for every 5 of the population, and in the 2 counties mentioned one in every 3 persons had malaria. Such rates indicate a tremendous prev- alence of the disease in many rural districts. Recent Ten- nessee surveys show the following prevalence in a few com- munities where data were obtained: Gibson Co. "A" Com. had 290 inhabitants with 142 cases. " " "B" " " 844 " " 105 « " " "C" " " 235 " " 121 " One county health officer reported that 75 per cent of his summer practice was concerned with malaria. These data are based on answers to the queries of a public health nurse in a house-to-house survey. The studies in Mississippi covering over 30,000 persons indicated that only Health 79 from one-fifth to one-fourth of all the infected persons were treated by physicians and that 15.93 per cent of the persons who gave a negative history of the disease were found by blood examinations to be harboring the malaria parasite, hence it is reasonably certain that the survey data are in no way an exaggeration. A study was ma^e by the United States Bureau of Ento- mology at Mound, La.,' to determine how much time was lost per year from productive labor for each case of malaria. The reporters of this study computed an average of 6.42 days lost in terms of adult labor for each case. The time of a male over 18 years of age Was figured as full time, that of a male from 12 to 18 years as one-half adult time, and that of one from 8 to 12 years as one-fourth. This would indicate a large loss of time in every school in Tennessee where malaria, is present, because of the prevalence of the disease among children of school age. Every day of attend- ance lost by a' school child because of sickness should be computed in terms of daily cost per capita of maintaining the school. Without detailed data upon this point, we may be sure that the cost is great. The greatest loss of labor time is probably sustained by growers of cotton and other crops. Any neglect of these crops from May to October may mean total failure, and malaria is most active during these months. Aside from humanitarian considerations, it is good busi- ness to prevent this serious economic waste. If the leaders of the State realize their responsibility and place the facts before the people effectively, there will be a demand that public funds be used to correct the conditions causing malaria. The State Board of Health has taken a commend- able step in this direction. As there were no public funds available for the purpose, it enlisted the co-operation of the United State Public Health Service and the International Health Board in making a demonstration this year in twb 1 See "The Malaria Problem in Peace and War," by F. L. Hoflfman. The Prudential Life Insurance Company. 80 Child Welfare in Tennessee communities of the State. These demonstrations should soon convince the people that the expense of eradicating malaria is small in comparison with the benefits. Similar demonstrations in Arkansas, Missouri, Missis- sippi, North Carolina, and Virginia have shown that malaria can be prevented; and the Tennessee legislature should, through suitable appropriations, make further demonstra- tions possible until the people learn that this disease can be prevented by practical means. Among other steps for the improvement of rural- sanitary conditions, efforts should be directed toward the proper screening of homes. In a rural area near Lake Village, Arkansas, a test was conducted in 1916 to determine the value of screening as a means of controlling malaria. The results indicated a decrease of malaria incidence in one year of about 70 per cent. A survey at Lake Charles, La., showed that the malaria rate among people in screened houses was 50 per cent lower than that in unscreened houses. A general lack of understanding of the relation between pools of water and the breeding of the anopheles mosquito and consequent malaria was noticeable in the stock ponds and other mosquito-breeding places maintained near the homes. The following communities were representative of Middle and Western Tennessee : Number of homes with Stock Ponds, Borrow Pits and Streams Number of Homes in the Where Mosquitoes Breed Near Comunity Surveyed. the Homes. Com. "X" 106 homes 23 homes with stock ponds 4 more Homes near other mosquito places. Com. "Y" 79 homes stock ponds, 33 homes near other mosquito places. Com. "Z" 92 homes 45 stock ponds, 9 homes Total of 4 com. near other mosquito places, in Gibson co, 433 homes 210 stock ponds, 12 homes Total of 3 com. near other mosquito places. in Giles Co. 280 homes 6 stock ponds, 127 hoipes near other mosquito places, A demonstration in a rural district of 36 square miles and 830 inhabitants in Hinds County, Miss., was made in Health 81 1918 and 1919 to determine the practicability of mosquito eradication in agricultural areas not very different from those mentioned in the table. The placing of small fish (gambusia affinis) in the ponds and streams resulted in the control of about 90 per cent of the potential mosquito-breed- ing places, and the clinical malaria dropped from a rate of 16.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent for the year of the demonstra- tion. Another method of approach is through traveling clinics, which bring the facts before the people and at the same time provide laboratory diagnosis and post-graduate opportuni- ties for the medical profession. The need and value of ex- tended and improved medical treatment for malaria were brought out in the scientific studies of the 31,000 persons recently examined in Mississippi. From 50 to 68 per cent of all cases of malaria were found to be relapses and not new infections. This percentage, of course, indicates that but few of the persons with the disease are actually rid of the parasite after apparent cure and that those who are not rid of it constitute the chief source of transmission. The extermination of the Anopheles mosquito will even- tually solve the malaria problem. The rich agricultural land in Western and Middle Tennessee will increase in pro- ductivity and value, and a great change for the better will occur in the health of the people with the drainage of lands and swamps and the dredging of streams. These problems must be approached by community action and by State pro- motion. Most of our States have laws providing for the establishment of drainage districts and the issuing of bonds to furnish funds for such undertakings. In New Jersey the value of land has greatly increased because of the drainage for the extermination of mosquitoes. According to a state- ment of the President of the New Jersey Mosquito Exter- mination Association, "1% miUion of people in New Jersey have been given a very considerable measure of protection against the mosquito and at a per capita cost of about 12 cents per annum." In Tennessee one sanitary engineer attached to the State 82 Child Welfare in Tennessee Board of Health could successfully supervise the work in several counties and train assistants so that the service would spread through all the malaria-infected regions of the State. Every city and town should have means of full mosquito control with expert consultant service from the State Board of Health available at all times. All drainage projects must be carried out under such expert supervision if adequate results are to be obtained in malaria control. The many demonstrations in North Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, and Arkansas indicate that adequate malaria con- trol through the prevention of mosquito breeding can be secured at a cost of from $1.00 to $1.50 per capita for the first year and at a cost of from half to three-quarters of such sum for subsequent years. The money cost alone of malaria would more than pay for such service. Tuberculosis. — Of the 4,700 annual deaths from tubercu- losis in Tennessee, one-fifth are of children under 20 years of age. Many of those who die from this disease between the ages of 20 and 40 years are parents of young children. The incidence of the disease in later life is considered by authorities to be quite largely the result of early infections and to indicate neglect of hygiene during childhood. Ten- nessee children suffer from tuberculosis much more than children in the country at large. In 1917 Tennessee had the second highest death rate from tuberculosis in the United States registration area, which area represented that year 72.7 per cent of the total population of the country. The Tennessee rate was 198.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the United States registration area rate was 146.4. In 1918 the deaths in Tennessee exceeded those in the preceding year by 202, but in 1919 the total number of deaths dropped 20.2 per cent below the 1918 figure. Except in 1919, the tuberculosis rate in Tennessee for the last five years (the only years reported) has been higher than that in the origi- nal 'registration states 15 to 20 years ago. The following table will show that there has been no appreciable decline in death rates in the five large cities of the State. Health 83 tuberculosis death rate, all forms. 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 Chattanooga 212.6 246.8 225.7 225.3 243.5 Jackson 217.3 222.8 245.2 226.3 239.6 Knoxville __214.8 233.4 206.3 245.4 261.1 279.8 250.1 Memphis —217.3 303.8 271.3 290.9 299.6 266.5 253.9 241.2 White 136.4 135.4 124.6 158.1 161.5 146.7 Colored _ -513.0 557.0 561.2 428.7 329.2 382.9 Nashville ___191.3 235.3 203.1 238.9 235.0 216.1 241.3 241.5 White 142.4 136.5 140.5 145.7 161.8 165.0 Colored 342.0 465.1 425.9 258.3 401.9 396.0 Recent studies of the National Tuberculosis Association at Framingham, Mass., made for the purpose of determin- ing the actual number of persons in an industrial community suffering from tuberculosis, indicated that 9 active cages might be expected in a community for every death from that cause, and 21 cases for each death if the arrested ones are included. The Tennessee death rate is nearly twice that of Framingham, Mass., and the large number of negroes in the State may cause less morbidity for each tuberculosis death. But if we use the Framingham ratio for White per- sons, and only half the morbidity for each death for negroes, we find that over 33,000 persons were sick with active tuberculosis inil917, and that when the arrested cases are included the estimate totals 78,000 persons suffering from tuberculosis in the State. The high death rates among negroes indicate conditions that are a constant menace to both races. In Memphis there has been an appalling increase in the fatalities among negroes, and yet, according to the survey of the city by the United States Public Health Service in the spring of 1920, "as far as could be determined there has been no continuous or extensive effort made to reduce the morbidity and mortal- ity rates from this disease-" It should be said in all fairness that at the time of writing this report Memphis appears to be making an active effort to reorganize her health de- partment upon a modern basis. In all the larger cities there is need for scientific public health organization directed exclusively to the problem of the negro. Whatever the 84 Child Welfare in Tennessee negro does for himself will be due to what the white people and a few negroes teach him to do. The Tuberculosis Sanitarium of Davidson County is a very commendable step toward meeting the tuberculosis prob- lem in Nashville. Extended and properly directed public health nursing service to reach the neglected cases, to pro- vide home treatment where practicable, and to do follow-up work in hospital, dispensary, and school cases should bring prompt returns in a lower death rate. Memphis and Nash- ville should both be able to provide adequate dispensary ser- vice to insure early expert diagnosis through the medical college clinics, and Knoxville may meet this problem through its Health Center. Knoxville has land but no immediate prospects for a building. Chattanooga has an 80-bed sani- tarium supported by the city and Hamilton County. Pend- ing the completion of the modern hospital at Memphis, a 60-bed>'hospital for the tuberculous is now being operated there. No sadder story could be written than that of a par- ent in a crowded home, lingering with tuberculosis, and con- stantly exposing young children to the deadly infection. District and county sanitaria will meet this need, but the record of past progress in other States along this line would indicate that Tennessee must provide State aid for their construction. The Modern -Health Crusade was introduced in a large number of schools last year, and plans have been laid by the State Department of Education to place the movement upon a semi-official basis with an organizer under its direc- tion to promote the movement in all the schools. The heaitli habits learned in early life through the stimulus of the health crusade will bring large returns in building up and maintaining resistance to withstand the attacks of the tuberculosis infection. The prevalence of tuberculosis is particularly alarming because of the appalling lack of organized efforts for preven- tion throughout the State, The work of th^ State Tuber- culosis Association and of the few public health nurses is necessarily so widely scattered thaj; the effect is apparent only in a somewhat more awakened public interest. The Health 85 State Board of Health is not giving any particular attention to the tuberculosis problem, not because the state officials have no appreciation of the problem, nor because they are not directing their efforts for the greatest benefit to the health of the people, but because the support of public health activity has been so inadequate that first attention has been required for the demonstration of the value of public health measures and for county health organization. Such a groundwork is essential to progress. But the building of tuberculosis hospitals, special demonstrations such as clinics and public health nursing, local organization and. educational activities for the prevention of tuberculosis should be con- current with the present activities of the State. Tuberculosis is so intimately associated with bad housing, with ignorance of personal hygiene, with poor social condi- tions, with neglect of the physical care of school children, and with' undernourishment that much of the campaign against the disease must be directed toward public health education that will arouse the social conscience of the people to demand correction of these evils. The State Tuberculosis Association has recently been carrying on this educational work through talks, distribution of literature, and demon- strations of health work in the schools. The decrease in the tuberculosis death rate in many North- ern States through organized activities that have followed such educational propaganda will indicate to Tennessee that these efforts will bring results. The record of the State Tuberculosis Association last winter, when Tennessee led the South on its Christmas seal champaign, is evidence enough that Tennesseeans are glad to spend their money for tuberculosis prevention. The next step in the control of this disease should be a liberal appropriation for the State Board of Health. The sporadic local health activities should have expert advice through a high grade State Division of Communicable Diseases. Possibly at a later period all the tuberculosis work might with advantage be placed under a • special Bureau of Tuberculosis. All cases should be report- ed through the local health officials to the State Board of Health. At the present time cases are not reported and there 86 Child Welfare in Tennessee is no effort being made by the state officials to obtain such reports because the State has provided neither sufficient funds for the collection of these reports nor for their use in control measures. Only through larger State appropriations can the machin- ery of the State Board of Health be developed so that the ed- ucational work of the State Tuberculosis Association can be co-ordinated to the best advantage with all other health activities. Tuberculosis prevention should be a part of the county health demonstrations of the Division of Rural Sani- tation. These demonstrations should be able to provide for early diagnosis through adequate clinic services. Such clinics might well introduce the development of a State diag- nostic consultation service as has been done in some states. With adequate State appropriations the necessary nursing services will gradually be established, general medical exami- nations may be promoted among adults as well as children, the educational program can be extended, and public opinion can be created along the lines of segregation of dangerous cases, spitting and milk control. The building up of local tuberculosis or public health societies to carry on the unofficial aspects of the program, should go with the local demonstrations and the establish- ment of modern health departments. Opportunities for post-graduate medical instruclrion is important if sufficient service is to be made available for early diagnosis of this dis- ease as well as such other conditions as hook-worm, dysen- tery and trachoma. Traveling clinics and special extension courses of the medical schools should be promoted by the State Board of Health through the co-operation of the medi- cal societies. Diphtheria. — Diphtheria is one of the deadly diseases that are badly neglected in Tennessee. Although the death rates indicate that the State as a whole has been fortunate in escaping widespread epidemics during the last five years, there have been several counties that have had high death rates continuously. In many parts of the State no attempt is made to prevent diphtheria. In one of the counties where Health 87 the death rate has averaged during the last four years over twice the rate for the State as a whole the county physician reported that the homes were not placarded when the dis- ease was diagnosed, there was no quarantine, the other chil- dren in families where the disease was present were not kept from school, there had been no effort to find carriers who were spreading the disease, and children recovering from it were allowed to return to school without negative throat cultures to determine whether they were still infec- tious. The State Board of Health reports that its limited funds make it impossible to employ an epidemiologist to advise such communities how they can prevent communi- cable diseases, and even when communities request help at the time of a severe epidemic it is frequently unable to send any one to assist in the control of the disease. Of the five largest cities, Knoxville has had a diphtheria death rate average much above the other cities during the last five years, and yet Knoxville children are allowed to return to school without negative throat cultures. The State Board of Health has arranged for the sale of diphtheria antitoxin at rates considerably below the market price. For all patients unable to pay, physicians may obtain the treatment at public expense. These wise measures should result in such early and effective treatment as to pre- vent many deaths from the disease. Antitoxin at the reduced price should be available to every physician in the State, and every person should know that antitoxin, if given early and in large doses, will cure diphtheria. To accomplish this the State must have a lar- ger organization. The State Bacteriological Laboratory pre- pares epidemic outfits for making swab cultures of large groups of persons in order to discover the carriers who spread the infection, but this method of controlling an epi- demic is not generally used. There is great need of suffi- cient funds for the State Laboratory, so that the laboratory service may be extended to all parts of the State, so that through proper publicity and demonstrations of its value every physician may be persuaded to use it. 88 Child Welfare in Tennessee Whooping Cough and Measles . — As far as the writer was able to determine, the general attitude toward whooping cough and measles, except in the four large cities, is that these diseases niust be "part of a child's life." In most of the communities visited the physicians do not report these diseases, and the county physician had neither placarded the houses nor excluded from school the children in contact with the disease. One health officer stated that he had "no time to fool with it." He left it to each physician in the town to placard his own case and report it to the school superin- tendent, so that other children in the family might be ex- cluded from school. One school superintendent stated that the county physician "co-operated," but on further question- ing the investigator learned that he meant that the physi- cian reported to the school when the epidemic had reached sufficiently extensive proportions to warrant the closing of the school. Many schools are closed every year from one to six weeks because of these or other communicable dis- eases, while no other effort is made to check the infection. The death rates show that there'is no ground for the prev- alent attitude that whooping cough and measles are not serious, for either of these diseases causes on the average more deaths than scarlet fever, smallpox or diphtheria. Whooping Cough. Measles. Smallpox. Scarlet Fever. Diphtheria 1916 15.8 per 100,000 inhab. 4.7 1.5 15.8 1917 17.8 33.9 .2 2.1 14.6 1918 24.1 17.2 .6 1.9 12.0 1919 8.1 2.3 13.0 The State Board of Health offidjials appreciate the signif- icance of these death rates, but are unable to cope with the situation without larger appropriatioris. Extended public health education, a division for communicable diseases, and full-time local health officers are the remedy. Smallpox is the only disease in many communities that is recognized sufficiently serious to need an appropriation for its prevention. Many counties have so-called pest-houses, where the smallpox patients are interned when there is an epidemic. The physician called health officer usually Health 89 limits his efforts to the care of smallpox patients and the inmates of the county jail. He is frequently paid for each visit to a smallpox patient as high as $10.00. The persons quarantined often insist that in some places if they are quar- antined they cannot pay their grocery bill, and this expense frequently costs the county as much as $50.00 to $100.00 per family. Although Tennessee has an excellent vaccina- tion law which would prevent any such expense if enforced, the expensive and ineffective quarantine method of controll- ing smallpox is generally followed because the local health officials are practicing physicians, untrained in public health work. Trachoma . — Trachoma causes blindness or badly, impair- ed eyesight. It spreads from one person to another. It is often unrecognized and is allowed to progress until there is no hope for cure. Every child with active trachoma in the public schools should be treated or removed to prevent the spread of the disease to the other children. Only $250.00 per year is spent by the State of Tennessee for the preven- tion of trachoma. It costs much more than this sum to train one blind child to be self-supporting. It would be better economy and more humane to spend many times this sum and prevent trachoma than to care for the blind in blind asylums. In August, 1916, the U. S. Public Health Service estab- lished a trachoma hospital at Tazewell, where, up to March 1, 6,431 cases from all parts of Tennessee had been treat- ed. Eleven counties were found to contain cases of trachoma when visited by the U. S. Public Health Service. The cure of the disease requires a specialist, and unfortunately there are no specialists in the rural districts where the disease is most prevalent. Relief for the sufferers must come through the extension of the work now being done by the U. S. Public Health Service, so that treatment, may be avail- able to all persons with the disease. The spread of the in- fection should be prevented through educational methods and the detection and treatment of cases in the schools; 90 Child Welfare in Tennessee Venereal Diseases . — Eight and two-tenths per cent of the 17,167 men that Tennessee contributed to the army in the recent war were found to be infected with venereal disease. Th^ report of the surgeon general's office of the U. S. army showed the following per cent of infection among the men from the /our principal cities of Tennessee. Strength Number of Cases Per Cent Infected Chattanooga 983 103 10.4 per cent Knoxville 933 87 9.3 per cent Memphis 2,262 300 13.2 per cent Nashville 1,262 122 9.6 per cent These high rates of infection indicate that a still larger proportion of the men of Tennessee become infected at some time during their lives, that many children are born afflict- ed with hereditary disease, and that numerous homes are made unhappy or are ruined because of these diseases. Tennessee cannot afford to ignore this source of misery as was done when these diseases were excluded by law from the list of reportable infections and when the legislature refused to appropriate money to meet the federal fund for venereal disease prevention. Fortunately the Secretary of the State Board of Health persuaded the U. S. Public Health Service to loan a public health executive to organize this phase of health work, and during the last few months great strides have been made toward the development of an organ- ization that will reduce the suffering from these diseases. Tennessee could have received no benefit from the federal money if the U. S. Public Health Service had not given this assistance, nor would it have been lawfully available if the American Red Cross had not given $10,000 and if the citi- zens of the four largest cities had not raised the remainder to meet the federal appropriation. The response to this work throughout the State during the few months of its progress should convince the next legislature that the people want it to continue and that results can be obtained in the control of these diseases. The recent experience of the U. S. army in lowering the disease rate from this cause below that of any army of any nation in the history of the world Health 91 has shown the folly of the old policy of secrecy in all matters relating to these diseases and of denying their existence. Public opinion has changed ; and Tennessee leaders should stand squarely for the prevention of venereal diseases, rather than accept the charity of outside agencies by letting them do the work of the State HEALTH OF SCHOOL CHILDREN At the present time Tennessee is expending over $8,000,- 000 per year upon its schools. This expenditure is of no value to the children who soon die of preventable diseases and of only partial value to the children suffering from the handicaps of correctible physical defects, malnutrition, and ill health resulting from neglect of hygiene and a school en- vironment unfavorable to normal physical development. Many of the present leaders of the school system of the State fully recognize that physical health and training are the very foundation upon which we must build our schools ; but if they are to bring this idea to all schools in the State, they must have money and support. The large proportion of pupils who fail to advance in their school work indicates another expenditure of energy and money without benefit to the children. Physical Defects. — Thousands of children examined in both urban and rural Tennessee schools have correctible physical defects. The failure of the children to advance in school is in many cases the direct result of these defects. In the following table are shown the results of the physical examinations by physicians and dentists of the State Board of' Health in fifteen counties, by Dr. W. S. Austin, medical inspector of schools for Knoxville, and of the examinations under the direction of Dr. A. W. Sweet, of the Department of Bacteriology of the Medical College of Tennessee Univer- sity in 16 rural schools of Shelby County. 92 Child Welfare in.Tennessee Children examined Children ex- Children ex- Reports of exam, by State Board amined in amined in collected by joint of Health in Knoxville 16 rural Committees of N. IB counties. schools E. A. and A. M. A. Shelby Country City county children children Number of chil- dren examined 5953 5122 2162 Percentage of chil- dren with teeth defects 50.6% 55.6% 81.8% 49% 33.58% Percentage of chil- dren with throat defects 63.5% 55.5% 54.4% not recorded Percentage of chil- \ dren with eye de- fects 20.5% 36.3% 15.8% 21% 13.4% Percentage of chil- dren with tonsil defects not recorded 28.14% 16.429^ Percentage of chil- dren with ad- enoids — : 16% not recorded 9.7% 23.4% 12.5% Percentage of chil- dren with ear de- fects 13.9% not recorded 13.3% 4.78% 1.3% Percentage of chil- dren with ton- sillar condition operative not recorded 33.3% not recorded Percentage of chil- dren with teeth needing cleaning not recorded 70.% not recorded Average number of teeth cavities per child. not recorded 3.3% not recorded These are compared with the percentage averages of health defects prepared by the Joint Committee on Health Problems in Education of the National 'Council of the Nation- al Education Association and of the American Medical Asso- ciation from all available statistics. The reader will note a marked similarity to the figures for rural schools in other parts of the country. The comparison leads one to believe that these figures are in no way an exaggeration of the actual physical defects which handicap Tennessee children. It is Health ' 93 recognized by the writer that the decision of the physician as to what degree of variation from normal constitute* a health defect is a factor of great influence in such data, and it is further recognized that the methods followed by the examining physicians in this series probably varied con- siderably. This factor, however, was minimized in the State Board of Health statistics by the specific directions given , by the director of the Division of Rural Sanitation ; and al- though the number of examiners would magnify the varia- tions in the method, they would, on the other hand, minimize the error of too strict or too lenient an interpretation of a health defect. The evidence of these data, collected as they were from so many schools throughout the State, can leave no doubt as to the need of organized medical attention to the health of Tennessee school children. The records of the State Board of Health showing 63.5 per cent of the chil- dren with throat defects included 10 per cent of the number examined who had grossly diseased tonsils. This probably means that 10 per cent suffer from continous absorption of poisons into the system from the tonsils or enlargment sufficient to obstruct breathing. Sixteen per cent of the children examined had adenoids which obstructed breathing, and the remainder had tonsils and adenoid condition sufficient to cause frequent sore throats or other- wise to menace health. All these conditions demand treat- ment or continued observation. The large proportion of children with teeth defects shows the need of the extension of the work of the Oral Hygiene Bureau of the State Board of Health. Such neglecj; of children's teeth as is shown in the many schools recorded in the table means not only serious handicaps to health through absorption of toxins from decayed and abcessed teeth and pyorrhea, but loss of the power of proper masti- cation unless costly dentistry is available. The examination of 356 children by the dentist of the State Board of Health in nine rural schools showed that 77 per cent had decay in temporary, permanent, or both sets of teeth; 45 per cent of the children had one or more permanent teeth decayed and an average of 3.9 decayed teeth per child, for all the 94 ' Child Welfare in Tennessee children examined. Fifty-one per cent of the children stat- ed tkat they did not own a toothbrush. In four schools in another county 80 per cent of the children had an average of 3.4 decayed permanent teeth per child, and 41 per cent had no toothbrush. In a third county where 2,141 children were examined under the direction of Dr. A. W. Sweet, of the Tennessee University Medical School, 81.8 per cent had decay in either temporary or permanent teeth, with an average of 3.3 cavities per child. The condition of the teeth of 70 per cent of the children indicated the need of cleaning, and the teeth of 21.4 per cent showed need of straightening. The value of educational measures was well illustrated by one county school superintendent, who stated that when the pupils of several schools were questioned a few years ago only 15 out of 218 had toothbrushes ; but recently, after instruction had been given as to the importance of its daily use, 118 children owned toothbrushes among 165 questioned. The eye examinations by the State Board of Health physi- cians and those directed by Dr. Sweet, of Memphis, were made, by inspection and by the Snellen test to determine defects of vision. Such an examination, of course, would not detect all children suffering from eye strain, but every child With defective vision, sore and red eyes, cross eyes, and trachoma, found by such examinations, should have immedi- ate attention as an economic measure for the schools. The relation of eye defects to retardation, discouragement, in- corrigibility, truancy, and juvenile delinquency has been thoroughly demonstrated by the remarkable changes occur- ring in so-called backward or bad children after correction of their eye defects. The uninterested and backward pupil suf- fering from eye troubles costs the teacher more effort than a normal pupil and therefore becomes an expensive handicap to all the pupils of his class. The large proportion of children found With defective eyes is evidence that their parents eith- er do not know the handicap of such defects or they do not know that they are now correctible by medical science. The parents who believe that a child will outgrow these defects do not realize that they tend to grow worse rather than to im- Health 95 prove unless the child is protected by proper scientific care. The, bad lighting of the average Tennessee school building aggravates these eye defects and probably is responsible for many cases of eye strain. Medical examinations of these children should establish the relation of school lighting to eye strain and should influence public opinion in favor of either remodeling the school buildings or constructing new ones. All these defective children fail to derive full values from the school's expenditure for them. Many are also a handi- cap to the normal pupils. The large proportion of children with physical handicaps should convince every citizen that the burden on the schools in Tennessee is heavy. The ex- perience of other States and countries seems to show that the detection and correction of these physical handicaps can best be performed as a governmental function. The investigator found that children had been examined for physical defects in the schools of the four large cities and in a few other city and village schools. This work has not been effective because either inadequate or no arrangements were made to show parents that the defects needed atten- tion, and in most cases no provision was made for necessary ' medical service when parents were unable to employ a physi- cian. The State Board of Health has made many health examinations in schools, and as a result of these demonstra- tions local physicians have volunteered such service in a number of instances, and other public-spirited persons have arranged for the employment of part-time medical examin- ers in other places, but in no case is the follow-up work pro- vided to insure that the defects are corrected in even a fair proportion of the cases. Of course, the actual correc- tion of the defects determines the value of these physical examinations. Malnutrition. — Recent studies of malnutrition among children have shown that improved diet and medical atten- tion will bring great changes in the physical vigor, growth, and development of children of school age. A simple stand- ard of nutrition and growth has been worked out that com- 96 Child Welfare in Tennessee pares the relation of weight to height and age. Of 427 chil- dren examined in two schools in Knoxville, 25 per cent were 10 per cent or more under normal weight for their height, sex, and age. One of these schools is attended by children from well-to do as well as from the homes of mill workers ; about 100 children were examined in the other school, which is in a mill district. In the rural schools of Shelby County the examinations made under the direction of Dr Sweet, of the Undversity of Tennessee, showed 14.6 per cent of the children were 10 per cent or more under weight. The obser- vation of the writer in other Tennessee schools' suggests that malnutrition is probably equally prevalent throughout the State. Only a very few schools have scales for weighing children. Very few schools even give any instruction in proper diet outside of the recitations upon the State adopted text books. School lunches have been established in a few of the larger cities. Hot lunches are particularly needed in the rural schools where the children ' walk several miles and bring soggy biscuits as a part of their lunch. In one school in a rich county the writer questioned the children and found about one-third had had only coffee and white flour biscuits for breakfast, and a number of the younger children had walked several miles and had brought no noon lunch. Among 63 rural schools of one or two rooms where the children brought their lunches only three were found in which they had any thing hot to eat or drink for the noon meal. Among 17 schools of three or more rooms, three schools had hot food served by the Parent Teachers' Association or by the School Improvement League. In Knoxville, among 17 schools that replied to a. question- naire of the Parent Teachers' Association, only two grade schools and two high schools had hot lunches. In several of the other schools ice cream cones were sold to the children, in one of these pie and sandwiches were served at times, and in another the parents prepared a lunch once a week. It is important that these associations be advised how to use the school lunch to teach proper diet and to overcome mal- Health 97 nutrition. In another city a hot school lunch was being served at the time of the visit of one of the investigators. The lack of appreciation of the opportunity for teaching food facts and for training in right food habits was apparent from the menu and the arrangement of the food upon the counter. Pie, cakes, and weiner sandwiches without buttf^r were placed in front, while a nourishing soup was at the back almost out of reach. No milk was provided. Most of the children were selecting the foods nearest them. A house-to-house study made by one of the county health units of the State Board of Health in a prosperous rural community showed that among 85 families 9.4 per cent, or 8 families, used no milk, and 5 families used no more than one quart or less per person in a week, and 23 families used from one quart to two quarts per person per week. Thus 41.5 per cent of the families used either no milk or only slightly more than one glass per day per person. Diets with such a small quantity of milk must have a very deleterious effect upon the development of children. This study also showed that eggs were not as freely used as they should be. Ten per cent of the families used three eggs or fewer per per- son per week, and 42 per cent of the families used on the average less than one egg per person per day. Although the studies of pellagra during recent years have generally tended to show that this disease has a distinct re- lation to diet, it cannot be definitely stated that the exces- sive prevalence and high mortality in Tennessee from pella- gra is the direct result of a faulty diet among its victims. At any rate malnutrition among children and the prevalence of tuberculosis, with its close relation to undernourishment, indicate the need of instruction in the essentials of proper diet and correct food habits. Sanitation in School Buildings . — Children are required to live in school buildings five or six hours per day, from six to nine months of the year, and the buildings are probably used for not fewer than 40 years. With so much use it seems reasonable to expect that the health of the children should be considered in the plan and the construction of these build- 98 Child Welfare in Tennessee ings. The 1917-18 report of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction stated that $6,199,287.07 had been spent for school sites and buildings during the last ten years, and in 1916-17 over five times as much had been spent as in the year 1906-7. Probably no Ifess than $10,000,000, and per- haps twice this amount, will be expended in Tennessee in the next decade upon school sites and buildings. The site of many school buildings has been selected with- out regard to drainage, accessibility for the children, and suitability for playgrounds. In one county the average size of the play ground among thirty-five schools was three- quarters of an acre, and in thirteen of the schools the area was less than one-quarter acre. In one town of nearly 2,000 inhabitants the principal had plowed up the boys' baseball field for a garden. The advice of architects or sanitarians with a knowledge of schoolhouse construction is necessary for the protection of children against lighting that causes eye strain, against poor heating and ventilation, and other bad sanitary feat- ures. A window area of not less than 20 per cent of the floor space should be the minimum for every schoolroom, but observation in four counties shows that forty-six out of fifty schools of one or two rooms have less window space than this and forty-two out of sixty buildings of three or more rooms have the same defect. Two builidings of the smaller rural variety have a window area of not more than four per cent of the floor space. In many schools the windows are arranged so that considerable waste space is left between the top of the window and the ceiling, which arrangement is often the cause of insufficient light for the desks farthest from the windows. Sixty-four out of 87 schools were found with this defect. The ar- rangement of the windows causes cross lighting and glare in most of the schols. Eighty-four out of 98 schools of one or two rooms visited have cross lighting of such a character as to cause serious eye strain at all times. Eleven of these are arranged so that children face the light. Only seven out of the ninety-eight schools had unilateral left-side light- Health 99 ing. In the schools larger than two rooms, in one county having better buildings than any other with possibly one or. two exceptions, twelve schools out of twenty-six have satisfactory lighting, and left unilateral lighting was noted in seven of these; nine of these twenty-six schools have had cross lighting in either one or all the rooms. Among ten build- ings of more than two rooms visited in other counties, not one has unilateral lighting throughout, and ejight of the ten schools have bad cross lighting in from one to all the rooms. Many buildings of recent construction were found with this fault. Such conditions are unquestionably injuring the eyes of Tennessee children. Many expensive school buildings were seen by the writer where children were sitting in parts of the rooms that were so dark as to cause eye strain even On bright days, and the cross lighting produced glares and shadows upon the blackboard, so that all blackboard work caused serious 6ye strain for a large proportion of the chil- dren. In the only county where a record was made of the buildings with window shades, twenty out of thirty-seven schools had no curtains, and the curtains in nine of the schools which were supplied with them were in poor condi- tion. Torn or no curtains and broken adjustments were seen in many schools in other counties, so that the glare of bright sunlight upon the white panes was often another source of eye strain. It is not unlikely that the large prevalence of con- junctivitis found in many schools is one manifestation of this eye strain. Buildings constructed with single-thickness floors are uneconomical because the drafts from the floor and the difficulty in heating predispose the children to colds. Eighty- three out of 122 buildings of one and two rooms visited are constructed with single flooring and only fifteen of these have hard-wood flooring. The soft-wood floors are usually hard to keep sanitary. Sixty out of 88 schools of one and two rooms have unsatisfactory conditions as regards dust and cleanliness. In the larger schools this condition is better but hardly satisfactory, for fifteen out of fifty-four could not be classed as sanitary. Only occasionally was a school found with oiled floors. Dry sweeping generally pre- 100 Child Welfare in Tennessee vails. In a large proportion of the rural schools all janitor work is left to the teacher or children. In one county where this point was checked, only five buildings out of 35 have janitors. From the standpoint of future home and com- munity sanitation the dirty and untidy schools so often seen unquestionably have a bad influence. When Tennessee seriously considers her high tuberculosis death rate, she surely will give attention to proper ventilation in the schools. Among 154 -schools 92 of which are smaller than three rooms in size, an effort to meet this problem has been made in only twelve. Two of these are rural schools that have window boards, so that some ventilation is possible without direct draft upon the children sitting near the win- dows. Nine of the larger buildings have vents or air shafts connecting with chimneys to provide an exit for foul air and foi" circulation in the room. One building has an out- side exit under the windows and in front of the radiators. No School in this series was found with outside connections for a jacketed stove. Many windows were found nailed shut. Poor heating arrangements in most of the schools add to the difficulty of providing any ventilation. In the one-and two-room buildings, only one jacketed stove was found among 97 schools inspected. Among 58 of the larger schools, 26 use common unjacketed stoves, 12 have hot-air furnaces, and 20 have steam or hot-water heat. It would be only a very little extra expense for all of these smaller schools to put up a jacketed stove with an outside connection that would' heat the fresh air coming into the building and be a great improvement over the present plan of an overheated stove in the center of the room and the extreme cold and bad air in the corners. Such improvement will only be pos- sible through a plan of state supervision to advise each rural school how these improvements can be made. Indoor proper temperature is now generally agreed to be of vital impor- tance to health and efficiency. It seems evident that this factor is almost entirely disregarded in Tennessee schools, if we ma;y judge from the methods of heating described and the scarcity of thermometers. In 93 schools of one or two rooms, only 5 thermometers were found. Of the larger Health 101 schools, only half of the buildings have thermometers. In some cases these are owned by the teachers, and in a large number of schools they are owned by the janitor. A number of the schools that have thermometers had placed them near a door or window, so that they were of little use. Many of the schools were found badly overheated at the time of the inspection. In several schools a large proportion of the children sat in overheated rooms throughout the day with rubber boots, heavy wraps, and in many cases with heavy wool caps. Thejsad sanitation of homes described in a previous sec- tion is sadly reflected in the schools throughout the state. Except where city water and sewers are found in the cities, a sanitary toilet at a school is rarely seen. Among 95 schools in 3 counties, 24 schools or 25 per cent, were found with no toilet. In another county 22 per cent of the schools have no toilets, and 17 per cent more have one for the 'use of the girls only. Another county has 13 per cent with no toi- lets and 7 per cent with only 1. The remainder of the schools have, with only a few exceptions, open-back, filthy privies. In most cases no attempt is made to keep these places clean. In 76 per cent of the schools out of 60 reporting, teachers of one or two-room schools reported that the toilets were either seldom or never inspected. Seven principals among 27 of the larger schools reported that they inspected the toilets every day. The others reported that it was done often, weekly, seldom, or never. The privies at most of the rural schools visited by the investigator were disgust- ingly dirty, with urine and excreta upon the seats and floors ; and similar conditions were found in many city schools with modern plumbing. The effect upon the children of such dis- regard of a decent standard of cleanliness and sanitation at school is evidently not appreciated by many local officials. One generation of children influenced by decent school toilet facilities and instruction in the most elementary principles of sanitation would probably have a marked effect in check- ing the spread of filth-borne diseases. Bad conditions contin- ue to exist in spite of the efforts of the State Board of Health, which through its Division of Rural Sanitation has 102 Child Welfare in Tennessee carried on a campaign of educai;ion and has constructed at least 300 sanitary closets for rural schools in twenty or more counties. The apparent indifference of school authorities to the purity of the drinking water at the school encourages the use of unsafe water throughout the community. Among 91 schools of one or two rooms visited, 61, or 67 per cent, obtain their water from open wells or springs. In only one of these schools had the water been examined in a labora- tory, and in most cases no attempt had been made to prevent pollution from surface drainage. Among 30 of the larger schools, the water had been' examined in two cases. In one ilich county open wells are Used at all the schools except three, where deep artesian wells have been provided. More often than not, there is no drinking water on the school grounds, and it is necessary for the children to carry water for long distances from a farmhouse. A bucket and the com- mon dipper are used in most rural schools. In 40 schools in one county an attempt had been made to encourage the use of individual cups in only three. A common cup is used at many schools where city water supply taps are found, and a large proportion of the so-called sanitary drinking foun- tains in the city and town schools are little better than a common cup, for they are arranged so that each child touches his lips to the fountain. Tennessee's compulsory education law requires every child to attend school. Every child, in turn, has a right to expect from the state clean sanitary conditions in school and protection against any condition likely to injure his health: Every taxpayer has a right to expect that expen- ditures for school sites and school buildings be made ad- visedly, that the buildings be modern and sanitary and with no features likely to injure the health of the school chil- dren. It is evident that neither the school child nor the taxpayer is obtaining these rights; but this is hardly the fault of the officials of the State Departmfent of Education, for they have tried recently to exercise supervision over the plans of all new consolidated school buildings. They have wisely sought the advice of Professor Fletcher B. Health 103 Dressier, of Peabody College, who has for some time been the consultant of the U. S. Bureau of Education on school buildings ; but such important work cannot be handled prop- erly as part of the duties of the present limited staff of this department. Laws should be enacted to prohibit any community from building a schoolhouse with such unsani- tary features as are now so prevalent even in the new schools. This can be prevented by statutory control if the state will employ the services of a full-time expert. Several states exercise direct control through their state health de- partments; in a number of other States this work is done by the State Education Department or by both acting together. In Illinois the Superintendent of Schools, with the advice of the State Board of Health, the State Architect, and the Fire Marshal, draws up minimum specifications for heating, ventilation, and sani- tation. In Indiana the State Board of Health, under grant of authority of its general health law, has pre- scribed rules governing the lighting, heating seating, ventilation, water supplies, sewage disposal, and other essential sanitary features of school buildings and has also adopted rules of procedure in reference to school surveys, condemnation, and approval of plans. A law of 1911 giving statutory control to the State Board of Health, with the ad- vice of the State Superintendent of Education, has been most successful in improving the school buildings of that state, the work requiring practically the full time of one official in making schoolhouse surveys, carrying out condemnation proceedings, conferences with school officials, attendance at court cases, inspection of plans and specifications, and prep- arations of rules, policies, and. plans of procedure. Tennessee could well afford to pay at least 1 per cent on her present an- nual investment for school sites and -buildings to insure selec- tion of sites and construction that will not violate the rights of the children and the taxpayers. In such an unsanitary environment as was found in most of the Tennessee schools any instruction in home or com- munity hygiene is likely to have very little value to thf« 104 Child Welfare in Tennessee children. The investigator found no school with proper facilities for handwashing such as soap, running water, individual or paper towels. In most schools the children eat their lunch without even rinsing their hands in cold water. Personal hygiene instruction from a text-book must be supplemented by practice of health habits. The Modern Health Crusade is a big step forward ; but neglect of ventila- tion, filthy toilets, absence of facilities for handwashing, the use of the common drinking cup or the roller towel, ill- fitting seats, and other viblations of the simplest principles of hygiene defeat whatever value there may be in instruc- tion from the state adopted text-book of the Modem Health Crusade. Among 59 rural schools visited, 14 use no hygiene text-book and therefore give no instruction in this most important subject, except possibly the advice, upon occasion, of a teacher with no special training. Recently hygiene has been given some attention in the normal schools but a large proportion of the teachers have not had normal or college training. Eleven of the series of 59 schools use texts other than those approved by the State Department of Education, and many of the schools reported that hygiene instruction was given no more than from fifteen to twenty minutes per day in only one grade. Few give this instruction in more than two grades. Many high schools offer no course in hj'- giene, and in most schools the subject is taught only as part of some other course or is not studied by all the children. The county superintendents in a number of counties reported that no special talks upon hygiene had been given. A comprehensive state program for physical education or provision for the normal physical development of every child should be organized along with the plans for better sanitation and saving life in infancy, early childhood, and at all times from communicable diseases. The revelations of the recent draft and the physical examinations of school children have shown that there is a tremendous waste of vitality and of opportunity for happiness and achievement as a result of physical incapacity. These deficiencies pre- sent an accumulation of physical defects that extend into the middle and later periods of life. Health and normal 'Health 105 development during the short period of growth of a child, combined with the formation of proper health habits and a knowledge of personal hygiene, will largely insure the fu- ture health of the individual. Health education is as im- portant to children as training in reading and writing. In our modern civilization the hygienic living so necessary to health and normal development does not happen but comes only through training, therefore the state should develop the health education program as a part of the school system, training the children to live according to hygienic principles, and such a program should have no less attention than the training of the mind. At the present time, health and physical training are given but meager attention in schools. Memphis has rec- ognized the need of efforts along this line to the extent of employing two physical directors for the high schools ; but they are inadequately paid, give courses to only part of the high school students, and their grade school work is limited to instructing the teachers in calisthenics. Military training is given to boys of high school age in Memphis and several other cities. Such training has great value for physical de- velopment, but is hardly an adequate substitute for a broad physical education program. Among 42 schools, the teachers of 7 stated that calisthenic exercises were given daily usually for about five minutes, and in 14 they reported that arm and leg movements or breathing exercises were held monthly, irregularly, or once per week and in three instances twice per week ; in the other 18 schools healthful play or physical exercises were not encouraged in any way. About half of the teachers visited were indifferent to any need of physical education in their schools. Twelve plainly regarded physi- cal exercise in the form of supervised play and games or formal setting-up exercises as not necessary for children living in the country. The University of Tennessee has just established a chair of hygiene and physical training. It will take years to put in operation a comprehensive program ; but a State director of physical education, with assistants to advise and help organize all schools now ready to begin this work, will make 106 Child Welfare in Tennessee a commendable beginning. Nineteen States have already taken this step. Many of them have enacted further legis- lation to aid local communities in carrying out a physical ed- ucation program. Congress is now considering a bill which would provide $10,000,000 for assisting states in this work. Instruction in personal and community hygiene, training in health habits, physical training through play, games, athlet- ics, and formal exercises should become part of the education of youth. Such educational activities should logically be de- veloped by the State Department of Education. The control of communicable diseases, the correction of physical defects and the sanitation of schoolhouses may be accomplished locally through the health department in counties with trained health officials. In communities ready to employ properly trained health officials in the schools all health ac- tivities may be co-ordinated under one head as part of the school program. Where both school and health department conduct health activities there must be the closest co-opera- tion. This might be encouraged in the state organization, as in North Carolina, through a joint control of physical educa- tion by the Departments of Health and Education, or through full control by the Board of Education, with a direct and intimate advisory contact of the Board of Health, INFANT WELFARE In 1917 one out of every 4 deaths from all causes in Ten- nessee was that of a child under 5 years of age. In 1918 this ratio was only slightly less, as 23 per cent of the deaths were children under 5 years. Although the infant death rate has decreased somewhat since 1917, the 1919 rate was greater than that for 1916, as nine out of every 100 children born alive died before they were one year of age in 1919. Unfortunately we have not enough data to determine accu- rately whether the infant death rate in Tennessee is on the increase or the decline, but 4,271 deaths under 1 year of age in 1919 is sufficient reason for the State to take active measures for prevention. Diarrhea and enteritis cause about 1,000 deaths of infants Health 107 under 2 years of age every year; and, except for some de- crease during the last 10 years in Nashville, Chattanooga, and Memphis, where infant welfare clinics and public health nurses are doing some public health education, the death rate remains about the same. The unsanitary conditions already described are probably responsible for a part of the infant deaths from these diseases, and improper food and a lack of knowledge of proper care account for the remainder. Every mother in Tennessee should have the information necessary to protect the health of her infant. The state and every community should organize in a way to make this information available. New York City has reduced the death rate from diarrhea and enteritis among infants' under 2 years so that the rates in 1916 and 1917 were less than 1/2 of the annual average rate from 1906 to 1910. Tennessee shoula make the same effort to prevent deaths. Except for the little that is being done in the three cities mentioned, there appears to be practically no organized effort to reduce infant mortality in the State. One private physi- cian conducted an infant welfare dispensary in Chattanooga ■ for several years, and a private organization supported a visiting nurse for this dispensary. This service demonstrat- ed the need and the quick response of mothers to any offer of information on the better care of their children. Chatta- nooga has failed to meet the need following the discontinu- ance of his service during the war. Public health nurses have done commendable work in Nashville; but it should be ex- tended with more nurses and co-operative plan for consul- tation service with both the negro and white medical schools, infant wards in the college hospital, and prenatal clinics. Memphis has had 8 milk stations, financed by the Memphis Press, and a limited amount of infant welfare work done by the Public Health Nursing Association, but it must be under- stood that the importance of this work demands the fullest co-operation of all agencies with a well-planned organization and expert supervision. The recent health survey by the U. S. Public Health Service indicates that Memphis has not met this problem in an effective way. In many counties the infant mortality has shown a decided increase during the 108 Child Welfare in Tennessee last four years, and yet no steps have been taken to save the babies. There seems to be little hope that mothers will be able to obtain the information necessary to prevent the loss of their children unless the State points the way. The State should demonstrate to each community the value of public health nurses or adequately trained health Instructors and health centers where modern medical service may be given each sick child and mothers may be given proper prenatal care. The extended studies of the U. S. Children's Bureau to deter- mine the factors influencing infant mortality have shown that the highest mortahty occurs among children in families with the lowest incomes. Hence the facts brought out in the Chapter on "Rural Life" in this volume indicate that a large number of the children in the homes of tenant farmers must suffer severely from the diseases of infancy. The state law requires that all physicians use the prophy- lactic approved by the State Board of Health in the eyes of every n'ewbom child to prevent blindness, but the funds of the Board have been too limited to enforce it or even to carry on extended propaganda to persuade physicians to observe it. Much preventable blindness is the result, al- though there has been considerable reduction in its extent since the enactment of the law about five years ago, due to the increased use of prophylactic treatment by private physi- cians. Probably very few midwives even know of opthal- mia neonatorum or that it can be prevented, and yet there is no effort in the state to teach midwives that they should know if they are to care for mothers and babies at child- birth. In 1917 puerperal septicemia or other puerperal infections caused the death of 418 mothers, and 1,293 infants died from causes classified as congenital debility, injuries at birth, and other causes peculiar to early infancy and lack of care. A large proportion of these deaths could be prevent- ed if the State and local communities would direct organized efforts so that every mother and child could have scientific prenatal, obstetrical, and infant care. It is likely that igno- rant and dirty midwives are responsible for a number of Health 109 deaths of both mothers and infants. Every midwife should be registered and should be required to qualify as having knowledge of asepsis and the science of midwifery. Her preparation might begin with attendance upbn a course of instruction by the State Board of Health or other qualified group and gradually be raised until all midwives could be required to meet a satisfactory standard of training and experience. ' Birth registration is of primary importance for any infant welfare activities. Although Tennessee has the model birth registration law recommended by the U. S. Bureau of Statistics, there is not yet sufficient accuracy in the collec- tion of the returns to admit the state into the birth regis- tration area. In the opinion of the investigator, after look- ing into the operation of the law in various pars of the state, a larger appropriation will fee necessary for the Division of Vital Statistics if sufficient state supervision of the local registrars is given to insure statistics of value. At the present time there are 895 local registrars and the same number of deputy registrars in the state; many are mak- ing no effort to collect birth reports and the physicians evidently do ^ot appreciate their importance. Supervision is certainly necessary to require each local registrar to make aggressive efforts to collect reports of all births' and deaths in this district. At this writing there are 29 vacan- cies among the local registrars and the State Board of Health reports that it is not unusual that a district may be without, a registrar for a week or more without the knowl- edge of the state office. This can be prevented only by a sufficient staff in the Division of Vital Statistics to allow at least one person to keep in constant touch with all the local registrars and to carry on a continous campaign of education as to the importance of accurate vital statistics. HEALTH ADMINISTRATION Dr. Charles V. Chapin, an eminent public health authority, made a survey of all state boards of health in this country during 1914 under the direction of the Council on Health and Public Instruction of the American Medical Association. 110 Child Welfare in Tennessee He introduces his report on Tennessee with the following statement: "It is unfortunate that the department is not free from political relations." He showed that Tennessee had the smallest per capita expenditure for public health of all States except two, and was rated 36th, or among the lowest group of States in the amount of work being done for the prevention of disease. From the limited State records, from the statement of city and county physicians, of school officials and many public-spirited citizens the writer was im- pressed by the fact that very little has been done for public health by the State Board of Health until the last few years. Of course, the health car which traveled over the State in 1913, the tours of health exhibits, the special bulletins on communicable diseases and the sanitary privy, and the hookworm dispensaries, surveys, and lectures have had an effect upon public opinion, but this work has been too limited and has reached too few persons. In 1919 Tennessee ranked 34th in the total amount of expenditures for State health work. It may be a lack of confidence in the past record of the State Board of Health which now limits the money available for the present organi- zation. It has certainly also been due to the fact that even the more intelligent and public-spirited persons in the State have not appreciated the serious effects of preventable dis- eases and have not understood how they could be prevented. From the standpoint of the previous history of Tennessee and the small health appropriations, the State Board of Health during the last five years has made great prog- ress in the development of a modern state health program, but this progress has had little appreciable effect upon the death rates. The immediate needs are the prevention of malaria, hookworm, typhoid fever, dysentery, trachoma, tuberculosis, and venereal diseases; the construction of sanitary schoolhouses ; the prevention of infant mortality; the correction of physical handicaps to school children; the provision for physical development in the schools through play; and instruction in personal and community hygiene. Most of the efforts of the present State health organiza- tion have been very properly directed to public health edn- Health 111 cation, to studies of the state problems, and to practical de- monstrations of methods of disease control and public health administration. This work has been essential before any effective results could be obtained, and happily it has laid a basis for the future development of a broad program. Tennessee will be ready to meet these pressing problems as soon as the next legislature appropriates the needed money and amends the laws that restrict progress. The people of Tennessee should know more about what is being done by the present State Board of Health. Very little printed matter or newspaper information has come from the Board during the last year. Although this has greatly hampered progress, 'the reason seems to be that the small staff of the Board has been unable to meet the demands for consultation and lectures, to carry on the surveys and demon- strations, to compile the simplest statistics, to assist the Red Cross and State Tuberculosis Association in their ex- cellent propaganda and at the same time carry on an effec- tive educational campaign. Unquestionably these immediate demands should be met, but the people have a right to^know what the State Board of Health is doing, and sufficient staff should be employed at all times to give full publicity to its activities and to carry on an educational campaign. The executive of the Board should be entirely free to study, plan, organize, and co-ordinate all phases of the health pro- gram of the state. His assistants should prepare the statis- tics, supervise the surveys and local demonstrations, advise communities in regard to special health problems, and carry on much of the educational work. The executive should di- rect this work through a consistent plan to obtain the larg- est returns from the money available. State Board of Health . — The contrast between the achieve- ments of the State Board of Health in the past few years and what was accomplished prioi* thereto is striking. The marked benefits that have come from the department's expansion and the intensification of its work have been se- cured as the direct result of its own efforts and those of its co-operating agencies. The short sighted policy of stinted 112 Child Welfare in Tennessee health appropriations with the resulting limited activities cannot be ascribed to a failure in servicie of the State Board of Health. The State Board of Health is composed of three physicians appointed by the Governor from each grand division of the State. The term of office of each physician is six years, and one new member is appointed every two years. The State Commissioner of Agriculture is an ex-officio member of the Board. This official usually changes with each change of Governor, hence his membership on the Board is likely to bring in political influence. The physician members should make the Board bipartisan. Political influence may be further guarded against by the appointment by the State Medical Association of one or two more members, but enlightened public opinion can be the only adequate safe- guard against bad politics. The Secretary of the State Board of Health is elected by the Board for a term of five years, but is not a member of the Board. He is the executive officer, and his salary is $3,500. This amount is too low to retain permanently the sei'vices of a first-class man. The Division of Vital Statistics is under the immediate direction of the Assistant Secretary and Registrar of Vital Statistics. He is appointed by the Board. The present law should be amended so that the Registrar may be removed for cause by the Board or its executive officer. This state- ment does not imply any adverse criticism of the incumbent. The vital statistics of a state are such an important part of all health activities that the responsibility for them should be grouped with the other duties of state health adminis- tration. The Division of Rural Sanitation has been the most effective instrument of public health progress in Tennessee. The International Health Board began hookworm work in the state in 1911. Hookworm prevention has developed into the organization of health units composed of a field director, an assistant director or sanitary inspector, a public health nurse, and laborers for construction. Upon the in- vitation of a county, a proposal is made to the county court Health 113 that a demonstration of county health work will be carried on for from 3 months to one year provided the county appro- priates a sum determined by agreement. This sum has varied from nothing to $100, when the work was intro- duced, up to $5,000 in the last county interested. First attention is given to filth-borne diseases, and a large part of the work has been directed to the actual construc- tion of sanitary privies in rural communities. This has been the policy of the International Health Board, and it seems that it has been necessary to impress public opinion. The Division is now starting a policy of replading the construc- tion work with inspection, supervision, and urging each householder to improve the sanitation about his home. Many school children have been examined, and the educa- tional influence of this work has been extensive. It is of the utmost importance that this work be continued in the most effective manner possible. Each unit should demonstrate the value of scientific public health service so well that the county will, in every instance following the demonstration, employ a trained all-time health officer with public health nurses, sanitary inspectors, and clerical assis tants. At the present time the salary of the state director is- $3,000, and this sum is less than a neighboring state has offered for a public health position of less responsibility. The salaries of the field directors are slightly less than that set by experts of the U. S. Department of Labor as the "minimum of comfort" level for families of five. The State has been very fortunate in securing the services of men who have been interested in the work and have been able to con- tinue at great personal sacrifice because they had small fami- lies ; but it can hardly be expected that a salary below the American standard of living will hold competent men much longer. It should particularly be considered that the de- mand for traiined public health officials is greater than the supply; that Tennessee must pay reasonable salaries if she is to retain men for this important work, and that the County Health Unit is a part of a well-thought-out plan for the future development of public health. Such a program will succeed if the work is done well, but of course no progress 114 Child Welfare in Tennessee will be made without sufficient money to employ competent health officials. The hygienic laboratory has $6,000 per year for salaries and operating expenses. It has been possible to maintain a state laboratory with such an appropriation because the time of the director is given partly to Vanderbilt University Medical School. This arrangement has the theoretical ad- vantage that it plates the State Board of Health in touch with the center of scientific knowledge and of the scientific spirit of the state, and thereby economical arrangements may be made for research and routine scientific work of value to the progress of state health work. Co-operative plans with universities have been tried in about a dozen states, but according to Doctor Chapin in his report on state health work "they have not been particularly suc- cessful." He mentions numerous states where friction has resulted. There is evidently the best feeling in Tennessee, but the yearly records of the State Laboratory show that physicians are not making use of the laboratory as they should. When we consider the prevalence of hookworm, malaria and tuberculosis, we find that very few specimens are examined for these diseases. Extensive laboratory diagnosis is essential if there is to be any progress made against hookworm. There is need for more prompt reports on specimens, and arrangements should be made for prompt handling of those sent by mail. The laboratory must be popularized with the physicians of the state. Business should be secured and retained through methods similar to those used by retail merchants. The Director of the State Laboratory should give full time to the state and be under the direction of the executive of the State Board of Health. There is the greatest need for co-operation with all epidemiological work. In some states the laboratory is a part of the Epidemiological Division of the Health Department. It seems likely that the largest service could be rendered in Tennessee if the State Labora- tory were located in the same building with the other divi- sions of the Health Department, so that the Communicable Disease and Sanitary Engineering Divisions might work Health 115 more easily with the laboratory. A close connection with the university probably could be retained through the giv- ing of courses there. The plan of a branch laboratory at Memphis is commendable. There is particular need for a laboratory at Knoxville and Chattanooga because of the diffi- culties of rapid mail service to Nashville from East Ten- nessee. The physicians of Jackson have recently established a laboratory in the State Board of Health's C9unty health unit office in Jackson, and this should have state assistance and serve the surrounding territory. The work of sanitary engineering has been described under the section on water supplies. There can be no ques- tion of the value of this service. No state can afford to be without it. The work should be extended with assistant eng'ineers so that every community may have expert advice and all drainage projects may have sufficient supervision to obtain results in mosquito preyention. "The work of the Division of Venereal Diseases has been described. The Department of Foods and Drugs is in charge of an Inspector appointed by the Governor for a term of two years- This department has the enforcement of the following laws : The food and drug laws and sanitary food law, the hotel in- spection law, the weights and measures act, the soft drinks law, the milk standards law, anti-narcotics law, and until recently the law regulating the sale of intoxicating liquors by druggists. This department made 20,777 inspections in 1918, but of course adequate control of conditions can be accomplished only through proper local administration. The plan of the State Board of Health to establish competent local health administration through an all-time health officer, with assistants in each county, is the only sensible solu- tion. Although the enforcement of these laws is not nearly so important to the health of Tennessee children as the other activities of the State Board of Health, it is evident that there is great need for improvement in the handling of food, the sanitation of eating places and hotels, and in the clean- 116 Child Welfare in Tennessee liness of milk supplies. The report of the recent Red -Cross survey in Jackson shows the extent of the unsanitary conditions in places handling food in that city. The inspector of the State Foods and Drugs Depart- ment is quoted as follows in this report: "During the past 16 months 28 per cent of the confectioneries, 52 per cent of the restaurants, 60 per cent of the fruit stands and gro- ceries, 71 per cent of the meat markets, 77 per cent of the soft-drink stands, 100 per cent of the creameries, the Ice cream and candy factories, the fish and vegetable markets, and 100 per cent of our bottling plants, slaughterhouses, and bakeries have not been up to the standards set by the State Department of Foods and Drugs, and these are minimum standards in public health." The observations of the inves- tigator in 20 counties show that Jackson is not the only com- munity with such conditions. The writer made no attempt to evaluate the work of this State Department. Dr. Chapin's report in 1915 stated: "Nevertheless good work has been done by this small force." The present law gives* the State Board of Health no real authority over it. The exact responsibility of the State Board of Health in the enforcement of these laws is not clear. The law says that the, office and laboratory shall be established, equipped, and conducted under the supervision of the State Board of Health, and that, "in case of any viola- tion of this law, said State Board of Health, or its duly authorized representative, shall act as prosecutor in the court having criminal jurisdiction of said offense." The law is otherwise worded as though it were intended that the Food and Drug Department should be an independent organiza- tion. If it is intended that the control of food and drug adulteration, and that the enforcement of the weights and measures act and the anti-narcotics law should be under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Health, the Com- missioner of the Department must be appointed by the State Board of Health or its executive, and his reports should be made to the State Board of Health. Sanitary supervision over food and milk is vital to the health of children and must Health 117 be taken up by the health officials as the health program develops; hence this work should be directed by the State Board of Health. Bureau of Oral Hygiene. — The General Assembly of 1919 made provision for a Bureau of Oral Hygiene in the State Board of Health. The Board appoints an additional assis- tant secretary who is required to be a licensed dentist and one of five persons recommended by the State Board of Dental Examiners. This bureau has been active in intro- ducing instruction in the care of the teeth into the public schools. A number of county dental societies have examined gratis the children in their communities and have given talks in the schools. In other counties the director of the State Bureau has persuaded one or two private dentists to do this^work. Where a local dentist continues the educa- tional work as the representative of the State Board of Health, he is appointed County Mouth Hygienist. The discussion in the preceding section has shown the need for the extension of this work. Some counties have no dentists, and many people suffer from abscessed teeth and diseases of the gums. Prevention through education on the care of the teeth will bring the most satisfactory results. If this work is extended so as to provide a mouth hygienist with each county health unit, it will become a demonstration as a part of the health program that will result in educational and dental service to every child in the county. The demonstration of Dr. Fones in Bridge- iport, Connecticut, during the last five years has shown the value of these methods. The auto-mounted dental clinic recently arranged for by the Shelby County Tuberculosis Association is a practical scheme for reaphing all the rural schools of the county. This excellent demonstration car would be of great educatipnal value for state propaganda and should be copied. Local Health Administration. — Local health administra- tion as it is offers no hope of meeting the problems mention- 118 Child Welfare in Tennessee ed in this report with the exception of that in the four largest cities. In Memphis a new administration is being organized. If anything is to be accomplished in Nashville and Chattanooga, the people must take an active interest in better health service. Knoxville's hope for better conditions lies in the employment of a trained all-time health officer as recommended by the incumbent. It has been the experi- ence of the whole country that practising physicians em- ployed as health officers on part-time service bring almost no results in disease prevention. Of course we should rec- ognize the service of the medical profession in Tennessee in directing attention to the causes of disease, their work without pay for local and State Boards of Health, and the spirit of their efforts for better medical and health service. It is only through the co-operation of these men that Ten- nessee can adequately meet her health problems in the fu- ture, but shotgun quarantine and volunteer efforts in an epidemic must be replaced by the newer methods of scien- tific public health work. The law provides that the judge or chairman of the county court, the county clerk, and the county health officer or jail physician shall constitute the county board of health.' Every municipality of 5,000 or more inhabitants is re- quired to have a board of health, which must report di- rectly to the State Board of Health." The general law seems to contemplate that county and city boards of health will be active only in the restriction and suppression of communicable diseases. So far as the general law goes, constructive public health work is left to the State Board. A number of counties have special acts relating locally to health officers, but in most places disease prevention is con- fined to the efforts of a county or jail physician. He cares for the sick prisoners and the innlates of the county poorhouse, advises when schools or churches shall be closed at the time of an epidemic, and is expecte^ to quarantine and treat all smallpox patients. He may quarantine for diphtheria or scarlet fever if the case occurs in his own practice, and 1 S. C. 3106. 2 s. C. 3101. Health 119 occasionally a friendly physician may report a case for him to quarantine. For these duties in some counties he is paid $100, but in many counties nothing. One county physician told the investigator that he was paid $5 per call by the county for treating cases of smallpox and that formerly $10 per call was paid, but one doctor "killed a good thing by sending in too big a bill." He estimated that the county often spent two or three thousand dollars per year on the quarantine of smallpox. A few counties pay the health officer as much as $1,000 per year, one city of about 12,000 people pays $600 per year, another of nearly 4,000 inhabit- ants pays $1.00 for each family quarantined. There is no regularity about the pay of county or city physicians except the scantiness of the salarj'^, but this is not the only cause of the lack of service. Tennessee must recognize that disease prevention requires a training different from that which is necessary for treating the sick and that the public duties of a health officer are too important and exacting to permit him to supplement his salary by the practice of medicine. Without a health officer who is active in constructive pub- lic health work, the community must continue to suffer from the unhealthful conditions described until private groups of people develop health activities or the State takes over all health work. A number of private agencies have done very commendable work along this line. Public Health Nursing Associations, the American Red Cross, Parent- Teacher Associations and similar groups, children's free clinics. County Anti- Tuberculosis Associatibns, women's clubs, county farm agents, and home demonstration agents through the County Councils of Agriculture, and others, are all trying to improve public health ; but thus far in only a few places are their efforts having any appreciable in- fluence in providing adequate service. In many parts of the State these agencies are inactive along these lines or are absent altogether. The American Red Cross and the State Tuberculosis Asso- ciation, with the State Board of Health, are all responsible for public health nursing. • There are 16 public health nurses dis- tributed among eleven counties at this writing outside of 120 Child Welfare in Tennessee cities and 5 others under the direction of the State Board of Health. The employment of public health nurses is now being contemplated by a number of counties, and some even have the necessary funds ready ; but owing to the country- wide demand they have been unable to secure any. The public health nurses supported by the Red Cross or any other private organization frequently provide the prelimin- ary demonstrations of public health service which reveal to the county its own need of disease prevention and the way this may be obtained. Tennessee is not lacking in public- spirited citizens who would start this work but because they have not been in contact with modern public health methods they have not realized what may be accomplished in their own localities. A number of communities have organized nursing and medical service to meet the great need of disease prevention, but because there was no trained public health leader at hand the work became relief rather than preven- tion. The Red Cross and the State Tuberculosis Association are properly devoting their efforts to creating a demand for scientific health service, but of course they are unable to support sufficient machii^ery to give expert advice to every community. In order that every community with a wide-awake public sentiment for health work may obtain the best results, there must be experts available to advise and direct. At the present time the staff of the State Board of Health is too small to give this attention to the many communities desiring it. The demand is constantly increasing. Public health often receives a serious setback when a community wants real disease prevention but gets only ill-advised ama- teur service. Elsewhere this problem has been met by divid- ing a state into districts, with a supervisor representing the state board in each one, who keeps in close touch with the problems of his district and advises regarding local poli- cies in order that health activities may develop in a way that brings the best returns. Pennsylvania and Florida have developed along the line of such state centralization of health work. Other states have tried to provide special bureaus in their departments of health in order that expert Health 121 advice be given wherever needed. This plan is only partially- satisfactory because the local communities do not know how to use the bureaus. The district supervisor affords the necessary connection between the state experts and the local community. Tennessee should have at least one state representative in each of its three grand divisions. Such an official is necessary to avoid the waste involved in the efforts of many untrained workers anxious to promote and assist health activities. With the development of necessary bureaus in the State Board and the three district supervisors, Tennessee will be ready to meet the immediate requirements for the development of local health programs. Future Development. — The present State Board of Health has been co-operating with various welfare agencies to de- velop a program of health activities in Tennessee that will reach all parts of the State and meet the problems describ- ed. A strong state health machine, modern local health service, and properly trained officials are essential to this program. The first step in its development has been to obtain the assistance of the International Health Board and the U. S. Public Health Service to study the problems and make demonstrations of how the problems may be met. During the course of these studies and demonstrations the State Board of Health has been assisted by the State Tuber- culosis Association, the Red Cross, and other agencies in promoting lectures and other propaganda. -These educa- tional activities are necessary to lead the people to realize that disease can be prevented. The demonstrations have been used to show the people what can be done by a modern health department in their community, and to demonstrate the methods. There seems to be no doubt that a real change in public opinion has resulted from each demonstration, but not followed because no satisfactory plan could be offered the community under present conditions. The weak- ness of the present state organization cannot be reme- died without larger appropriations to extend the work that is now being done and to develop new activities. More money is being spent on state health work by 122 Child Welfare in. Tennessee outside agencies than the state now appropriates. Ten- nessee cannot expect to receive such assistance very much longer. The State is not too poor to do this work. To provide each community with modem health service, new legislation is essential. Each county, or any group of counties, should be permitted to establish a county depart- ment of health in charge of a whole-time health officer, with puWic health nurses and as many trained assistants as the size of the county, or the district, demands. If funds were provided so thait state aid might be given each county that is ready to establish such a department according to stan- dards specified by the State Board of Health, the work would progress much more rapidly. A number of counties should be ready to take such steps at once if an enabling act were passed. A state subsidy for every county which meets a state standard will be a logical development within a few years and will make it possible for all counties to have satis- factory service. A law requiring each county in the state to employ a health department of a certain standard would be a failure at this time because a sufficient number of train- ed officials could not be obtained. This proposed plan would in no way conflict with Tennessee trg,ditions. It makes no attempt to centralize the health work of Tennessee in one organization, but gives each county home rule and at the same time a safeguard against local politics through a state standard requiring trained officials. Each County Health Unit of the State Board of Health should make every effort to establish support for a modern health department in the county. The success, of the first county health departments will have a great influence in the development of the work in other counties. The district representatives of the State Board of Health recommended for each grand division of the State could assist in the devel- opment of the demonstration in their district and arouse the interest of the adjoining counties in what is being done. If we consider the sums now expended in many of the cities and towns for police and fire protection, we are convinced th^t the cost of adequate health protection can be met satisfac- torily. One city of 6,000 population spends 20 times as much Health 123 on fire protection as on health protection. In 1919 one of the larger cities spent 123 times as much on fire protection as upon disease prevention, and in anothe;r city 12 times as much was spent. If the present tax levies do not provide sufficient funds to prevent disease, a definite minimum tax for public health should be fixed, as is now required for ed- ucation. Public health is more Important than public ed- ucation. Public health officials trained in the new profession of preventive medicine are essential to the' success of any- state health program. There are no public health schools located in the South near the strictly Southern problenis." Tennessee must train her own officials or assist in the de- velopment of a Southern school of public health. It is hoped that Vanderbilt University or the University of Tennessee may supply this need. In the meantime the Division of Rural Sanitation of the State Board of Health must train public health executives for the extension of their county demonstrations and for the health departments that con- tinue the wbrk in the counties following the demonstrations. Each field director who wins the support of a county after a year's demonstration should remain, if the county so de- sires, in the county as whole-time health officer. During the course of the demonstration the State Board of Health should provide assistants to the field director, who will be able to continue the demonstration- in another county after a year's experience under competent direction. This plan might involve the necessity for more personnel on the County Demonstration Health Unit Staff. Such personnel might be recruited through a co-operative plan with the public health schools.. At any rate the extra expense thus involved would be justified if a permanent health department could be left in the county, and there would also be the added advantage to the demonstration of sufficient per- sonnel to do more school health work, infant welfare, tuber- culosis, and other activities that have been prohibited in 1 A public health school has since been started in Georgia. 124 Child Welfare in Tennessee the county demonstrations of recent years because of the too limited personnel. Public health nursing service should reach all parts of the state, both as a part of county health departments and as the pioneers of a more extensive service. It will probably be some time before the course at Peabody College can meet all the demands df the State for public health nurses. The present shortage and the lack of training schools in the South make it imperative that measures be taken for meet- ing this need. The State Board of Health, through the dis- trict supervisors, the State Directing Nurse and the Field Directors of the County Health Units, should train as many registered nurses as possible in connection w^ith their regu- lar duties in order to meet the immediate needs of the County Health Units. The Directors of the special Bureaus of the State Board of Health should co-operate in the development of the training courses of all the schools of public health that are established in the state. A State Council of Social Agencies has recently been formed. This affiliation should pave the way for a more effective relationship between the voluntary agencies and the official health authorities. Such a council should be able to reach a large number of thinking people in the state through the various constituent agencies, and with proper leadership these people would insure the success of an ade- quate health program. The limited funds of the official agencies make them peculiarly dependent in Tennessee upon the help of the voluntary agencies. Although there must be the closest co-operation, it is important that the func- tions of voluntary agencies are clearly appreciated. They should demonstrate the effectiveness of special services and hand them over to the public officials when this demonstra- tion is made ; they should experiment with new and untried methods; and they should support public administration when it deserves it and criticize it when it does not. The State Council of Social Agencies should be influential in help- ing the local voluntary agencies throughout the state "to perform these functions. Health 125 RECOMMENDATIONS. 1. A state should direct efforts toward such public service as will protect every child from preventable disease and provide opportunity for health and normal physical development. In Tennessee such a program will demand new laws, changes in the present laws, and a comprehen- sive organization of expert leaders. An enlarged and im- proved State Department of , Health would provide such leadership, but this cannot be developed without larger appropriations. II. An enabling act should be passed, so that a county may be permitted to levy a tax to support a modern health department and so that two or more counties, with the ap- proval of the State Board of Health, may unite to form a sani- tary district with a common health department and joint assessments for maintenance. .State aid should be given to each county or group of counties that establishes a health department with the standards fixed by the State Board of Health. III. The law should be amended so that the State Regis- trar of Vital Statistics will be entirely responsible to the State Board of Health or its executive. IV. The State Department of Foods and Drugs should be a Division under the direction of the State Board of Health. The executive of the State Board of Health should be responsible for the Division and should have authority to employ and discharge its director. V. All plans and specifications for public water supplies and sewer systems should be submitted to the State Board of Health for approval. All drainage projects should also be so submitted, to the end that malaria mosquitoes may be eradicated. ^ VI. All plans and specifications for schoolhouses, their location and equipment, should be submitted to a full-time expert under the Department of Education and should meet standards fixed by the State Board of Health and the State Department of Education. The State Department of Educa- tion, in co-operation with the State Board of Health, should 126 Child Welfare in Tennessee • have authority to condemn unsafe and unsanitary school buildings. VII. The State Board of Health should be required to register every midwife in the State and to require into hei qualifications. Every midwife should be required to qualify as having knowledge of asepsis and the science of mid- wifery. The Division of Public Health Nursing and Child Hygiene of the State Board of Health should conduct courses for the instruction and training of midwives. VIII. A Division of Physical Education should be created under the State Department of Education and with the con- tinued advice of the State Board of Health, in order to pro- vide instruction in personal and community hygiene, training in health habits, and physical training through play, games, athletics, and formal exercises. Such educational wdrk should be given a part in the school curriculum commensu- rate with its importance. This should direct local school health activities so that the local health and school depart- ments may maintain fullest co-operation. IX. In order that the State Board of Health may lead in the development of a broad health program, its activities must be enlarged and changed as follows: (a) A Division of Publicity and Public Health Ed- ucation is needed to carry on a continuous educational campaign to inform the people of the seriousness of cer- tain preventable diseases, of what can be accomplished by public health methods, and of how it may be accom- plished and of the progress that is being made along public health lines in Tennessee. (b) There should be one representative of the State Board of Health in each grand division of the state to act as public health supervisor as soon as conditions permit. As the work grows and becomes better organ- ized, these districts should be increased in number so that each supervisor would oversee fewer than ten counties and give expert advice oh all local health pro- jects. (c) Registration of vital statistics should be im- proved so that Tennessee may become part of the United States Birth Registration Area and so that death rates may be determined more accurately. All Health 127 local registrars should be supervised, arid the impor- tance of vital statistics should be given publicity throughout the state- Such progress will require a larger appropriation. (d) The Division of Rural Sanitation should be ex- tended. Each County Health Unit should have an assis- tant field director and several public health nurses, and the present meager salaries should be increased. Each unit should conduct activities for the preven- tion of tuberculosis, for the examination and super- vision of expectant mothers, for instruction in the hy- giene of maternity and care of infants, and for the physical examination of and instruction in the care and feeding of children of pre-school age. The examinations of school children now being con- ducted by these units should be properly followed up by public health nurses. Each unit should require correction of bad sanitation in the schools. A mouth hygienist should initiate instruction in schools in the care of the teeth and obtain public sup- port for dental service to every child in the county. School lunches, improved teaching of hygiene, in- struction in health habits, the Modern Health Crusade, and special methods of interesting children in improved health. as recommended by the Child Health Organi- zation of New York City, should be promoted by each unit. Demonstrations in the control of malaria should be made in each county where this disease is prevalent. Such activities if conducted by well trained persons would demonstrate the value of a modem local health department, and its establishment should follow. (e) AADivision of Communicable Diseases is needed to carry on continuous efforts against epidemic diseases, to assist and to advise local communities at the time of epidemics, and to achieve epidemiological prepared- ness, to extend education as to how communicable dis- eases can be controlled, and to popularize the state laboratory service. The State Laboratory should be part of the Divi- sion and entirely under the direction of the executive of the State Board of Health. Branch laboratories should be established in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Jackson, in addition to the one in Memphis. 128 Child Welfare in Tennessee This division should co-operate with the State Tuber- culosis Association, assist the county health demon- strations and county health departments in tuberculosis prevention and advise and assist all communities that are ready to take active measures for the prevention and treatment of this disease. The promotion and sub- sidizing of county or district tuberculosis sanitaria should be under the direction of this division. Probably a State subsidy for sanitaria should be, however, a later step. Trachoma prevention should be promoted through this division, which should extend the work now being done by the United States Public Health Service and should assist the county health demonstrations and all communities in the detection and treatment of this dis- ease. (f ) A special appropriation should be made to match the subsidy offered by the federal government, so that the Division of Venereal Disease of the State Board of Health may continue the campaign against venereal diseases, which is now supported by private funds. (g) A Division of Public Health Nursing and Child Hygiene is needed to promote the establishment of health centers where expectant mothers may be exam- ined and supervised, where infants and all other chil- dren may receive medical service, and where mothers may be advised as to the feeding and care of their chil- dren. It should promote the establishment of maternity hospitals or maternity wards in general hospitals, to the end that all necessitous and complicated cases may receive proper obstetrical care. It should promote public health nursing and assist the County Health Units in their infant and child health activities and ad- vise and assist county health departments and communi- ties in the development of infant and child health pro- grams. The physical examination of school children, the correction of physical defects, the sanitation of school buildings, and all special school health activities should be advanced by this division. • (h) A Division of Sanitary Engineering should be established with a sanitary engineer and expert assist- ants. This bureau should make investigations of water supplies, sewage disposal, and land drainage, and should pass upon plans for same. Health 129 (i) The Division of Foods and Drugs of the State Board of Health should take active measures to insure the purity and pasteurization of milk supplies. (j) A Division of Industrial Hygiene should be es- tablished to promote health service for industrial work- ers both child and adult and to prevent occupational diseases. Chapter III. SCHOOLS BY GERTRUDE H. FOLKS Introduction . — Foremost among the duties of a State is to provide for a system of public schools that will insure to every child a minimum of education sufficiently comprehen- sive to serve as the basis for the development of its capacities to the point of greatest usefulness. Most States do not meet this obligation. In the comparison of State school systems just published by the Russell Sage Foundation, "An Index number for State School Systems," no State is given a rating of more than 75 of the possible 100 points, and the average throughout the country is 51.01. Tennessee has only. 35 points and ranks forty-fourth in the country. The failure of a state to measure up to its educational responsibilities, how- ever does not bespeak disbelief in the principle of its obli- gation, but rather failure to realize its implications. The State is prepared to erect schoolhouses and pay school teach- ers, but it does not yet realize that adequate education in- volves (1) the requirement of attendance of children at school for a certain period of their lives during the large part of the year (2) attendance at schools which are con- ducted in healthful, attractive, well equipped schoolhouses: (3) instruction by properly qualified teachers ; (4) instruc- tion and activities along lines that take into consideration both the psychology of the individual child and the nature of the environment in which he lives. The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent the school system of Tennessee meets these requirements. It will not therefore report conditions in specific counties, towns, and cities with detailed recommendations regarding the changes needed in each of these localities. Rather its purpose is to size up the general condition of the schools 132 Child Welfare in Tennessee throughout the State ; to find out the reasons for such short comings as exist; and suggest certain fundamental changes that will make possible the correction of the evils found. It was obviously impossible to make an exhaustive study throughout the State, for there are 96 counties with over 6,800 schools and 787,530 children of scholastic age. Four counties were selected for intensive study, each representa- tive of a certain section of Tennessee: Monroe County, in Eastern Tennessee, typical of mountain conditions; Hamil- ton, typical of counties containing a large city ; Maury, a typi- cal county containing good agricultural resources ; and Smith, also a purely agricultural county somewhat comparable to Maury, but having the district school system. Practically every school that was in session in these counties was visited and schedules filled out containing information with regard to grounds, buildings, equipment, administration, preparation and salaries of teachers, community activities, enforcement of the compulsory attendance law, age and grade records, etc. These data were collected by members of the staff of the State Departri^ient of Education, the University of Ten- nessee, the Middle Tennessee State Normal School, Peabody College for Teachers, local educational workers, and the staff of the National Child Labor Committee. Seventeen other counties were visited, the county and city superintendents, attendance officers, and supervisors (where such existed) interviewed, and a limited number of schools visited. These counties were Blount, Carter, Hamilton, Knox, Loudon, and Washington, in East Tennessee; Davidson, Lincoln, Mar- shall, Montgomery, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson, in Middle Tennessee ; Crockett, Haywood, Madison, and Shelby in West Tennessee. In addition, through the courtesy of the State Department of Education, questionnaires were distributed to the county superintendents at the meeting of the Western Tennessee Teachers' Association and mailed to the county superintendents of all counties not visited. These questionnaires called for information with re- gard to administration, enforcement of the compulsory at- tendance law, length of the school term, preparation and salaries of teachers, consolidation, the establishment of high Schools 133 schools, tlieir work and equipment, industrial work in both elementary and high schools, finances, etc. Although not all of the superintendents replied and the information in some cases was incomplete, on the whole a fair basis for es- timating school conditions was found. The following 33 counties returned the questionnaires: Anderson, Bedford, Campbell, Clairbome, Clay, Coffee, Dekalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Giles, Hancock, Hardin, Hawkins, Henry, Hum- phreys, Jackson, Johnson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, McMinn, Meigs, Moore, Obion, Overton, Perry, Putnam, Tipton, Unicoi, Union, Warren, Weakley. This makes a total of 54 counties from which information was secured. Although the educational systems of the larger cities are practically independent of the State Department, a general study of two cities was made for the purposes of comparison, Nashville and Knoxville. For Memphis the report of the U. S. Bureau of Education published last winter is available. Chattanooga was excluded because, under new administra- tion, and with plans for reorganization on the basis of the 6-6 plan when the proposed high school is completed, pres- ent conditions could not be considered typical. The follow- ing twenty-five smaller cities and towns, all having inde- pendent systems, were also included: Population 10,000 20,000 - - Johnson City, Jackson 5,000 - 10,000 - - Clarl!;sville, Columbia 3,000 - 5,000 Alcoa, FayetteVille, Franklin, Lebanon, Morristown 1,000 - 3,000 - - Brownsville, Elizabethton, Gallatin, Greeneville, Lewisburg, Loudon, Maryville, Mount Pleasant, Sweet- water Population under 1,000 - Alamo, Bells, Carthage, Jonesboro, Madisonville, Maury City, Tellico Plains. The report will attempt to answer three questions. (1) What provision is made in Tennessee for the adminis- tration, organization, and support of public schools? (2) Is this system providing a satisfactory education for the chil- 134 Child Welfare in Tennessee dren of Tennessee? (3) If not, wherein does it fail and what measures must be taken to improve it ? ADMINISTRATION, ORGANIZATION, AND SUPPORT State . — The control of public education, in Tennessee is vested in a State Board of Education consisting of nine members (3 from each division of the State) appointed by the Governor for a term of six years, and a State Superin- tendent of Public Instruction appointed by the Governor for a term of two years at a salary of $3,600 a year and $1,000 for expenses. In addition there are in the State Department the follow- ing assistants : High School Inspector elected by the Board of Education and Associate High School Inspector employed by the General Education Board; Elementary School In- spector and Supervisor of Negro Schools, both employed by the general Education Board ; Supervisor for Trade and Industrial Education; Supervisor for Vocational Agricul- ture, and Supervisor of Home Economics, employed as a result of the Smith-Hughes Act; Chairman of Grading Com- mittee; 9 clerks and stenographers. This staff is inadequate for the work which the State de- partment should undertake. The State Superintendent should be elected by the people of the State for a term of 4 years and should be eligible for re-election. Further provision should be made for supervision. There are over 6,000 elementary rural schools in which over 7,500 white and over 1,500 negro teachers are employed. One man cannot do the work of inspection and of supervision which either the white or the colored schools require. He cannot even touch the "high spots" in each county. For both white and colored schools there should be a chief super- visor, with an adequate staff of supervisors working under him, either employed directly by the State Department for this work or employed in co-operat the high schools the salaries range from $105 to $210. In Knoxville also there are many teachers not qualified for the work. Reports secured from 288 of the 329 white teachers employed showed that 156 (54.2 per cent) had been educated in the public schools of Knoxville and Knox County. The danger of employing "home talent" to such an extent has already been pointed out. Of the 329 teachers, only 65 had ever taught in other States, only 69 in other cities, and 104 (one-third) had never taught outside of the city of Knoxville; 57, 20 per cent of the total number, were spending their first year in the Knoxville schools, and 25 were doing their first teaching work. 53 negro teach- ers were employed, of whom 9 were teaching for the first time in Knoxville, 8 for the first time anywhere. TABLE XXXV. Total In State In City Length of time W N W N W N 3 and under 81 9 101 4-10 124 17 120 11-20 75 16 70 20-30 42 ' 6 30 30 and over 4 5 5 Total '326 ' 53 326 53 326 53 One very poor feature of the Knoxville teaching system, common, however, in the city schools of Tennessee (see U. S. 1 3 reports missing. 15 205 28 17 73 14 13 36 6 8 11 5 1 2 238 Child Welfare in Tennessee Bureau report on Memphis) is the practice of admitting graduates from the city high school without any professional training. It is true that they serve as substitutes for one year, observing, visiting with the supervisors, keeping rec- ords, etc., when t]iey are not teaching; but this in itself does not constitute sufficient preparation for teaching. The preparation of Knoxville teachers, using the same chart as for Nashville teachers, follows : TABLE XXXVI. Knoxville Teachers White Negro 1. Not more than high school or equivalent 18 7 2. High school and part normal 71 2 3. High school and normal or equivalent 73 5 4. High school and part college 32 21 5. High school, part college and other 42 6. High school and college 21 18 7. High school, normal, and other (except full college)44 8. High school, college, and other (except full normal) 8 9. High school, normal, and college (or equivalent) ._ 18 327 53 Nineteen teachers in the Knovxille schools have advanced degrees. The remedy for the low standEbrds of the teaching pro- fesion in Tennessee, both rural and city, must come not only through stricter requirements for those entering the profes- sion,' but primarily through a further increase in salaries. Even with the increase from 10 to 30 per cent reported in manys sections of the state, the salaries on the whole are still low compared with those paid in trades and in other pro- fessions. Capable teachers will not be brought into the schools until this is corrected. The salary schedule recom- mended by the Tennessee State Teachers' Association is conservative' ; it is less than that being advocated by national educational organizations, but yet is a decided increase over the present rates. It recommended minimum salaries for inexperienced teachers as follows: Schools 239 Graduate of standard four-year high schools $80.00 Graduates of standard four-year high schools who have had one year's work in a State Normal School 90.00 Graduates of standard four-year high schools who have had two years' work in a State Normal School 100.00 Graduates of standard colleges who have done prescribed. courses in education 1 120.00 It recommends also an annual increase of $5 in the monthly salary for 6 years. This schedule should be made the mini- mum standard for all counties ; some should do better. But on the whole it is as much as can be expected at present for the rural schools. In cities, however, where expenses are higher, other opportunities for work more numerous, and school" revenue greater, this scale is inadequate. The graded salary schedule recommended by the National Edu- cation Association in its 1919 report on teachers' salaries and salary schedules should be adopted in towns and cities. This schedule is graded by size of the city, preparation of the teacher, and grade taught. It would make the minimum salary for elementary teachers in a city like Nashville or Knoxville $1,200 ; in cities of the size of Johnson City, Colum- bia, etc., it would be $1,000. It must be borne in mind, however, that the minimum preparation for city teachers represented on this schedule is the possession of a normal school diploma. The city schools of Tennessee cannot do the most effective work until both standards and salaries are raised. Negro Schools. — The laws of Tennessee provide that pub- lic schools for colored children must be separate and taught by colored teachers, but under the same general regulations as to management, usefulness, and efficiency.. No one even pretends that the latter part of this requirement is ob- served, and the colored schools of Tennessee are not only far below the white schools, but are a disgrace to the State. Outside of one or two counties, consolidation has hardly 240 Child Welfare in Tennessee touched the colored schools. In the 4 counties intensively studied 30 colored schools were visited ; except for 9 schools in Hamilton County virtually all were one-room schools of the worst possible type, those in Maury County being the poorest. In this county 10 schools were visited. Several were held in churches. None had more than an acre of ground if that; in only 3 was the roof in good condition, in some it was actually sunken ; only 3 appeared to have been painted within the last ten years ; only 2 had good steps ; in one the door sill was li/^ feet from the ground, in another the steps were so broken as to be actually dangerous ; in several the floor sagged ; only 1 had good walls, two had boards torn out of the side, many had broken windows; none hired a janitor or paid the teacher extra for the care of the school- house. They were totally lacking in equipment. In every school the blackboards were of painted wood, and the surface very poor (in some they were not used at all) ; rags were fre- quently used for erasers ; only one school had patent desks, one had old and worn homemade desks fastened one be- hind the other in series of 6 ; the others had no desks what- ever, but only benches. Only 4 had a teacher's table and only 1 a teacher's chair. In all of these schools the only material for classroom work was one lone map of Tennessee, not a single chart of any kind, not a globe, no maps of the United States or the world, no musical instruments, not even a library. No effort has been taken to make the schoolrooms attractive. There were no framed pictures, only a few mottoes in cardboard or chalked on the walls, and in 3 schools a few cheap magazine prints. The usual salary paid the teacher was $35.00 ; two received $40.00. In the other counties conditions are not quite so primitive in all of the schools, but on the whole the colored rural schools are wretched — located in rocky fields or on hill slopes where no use can be made of the school grounds; in old, diapidated buildings, unsanitary, poorly lighted and heated and sometimes actually unsafe; without any equipment for classroom work; often overcrowded (several schools were visited in which children had to sit three on a double bench, SCHOOLS 241 and 3 in which some actually had to stand) ; with miserably paid teachers ; and in some counties, in spite of the law, with shorter terms than the white schools. It is claimed that the negro children will not attend if the schools are held open longer because their services ar needed on the farms. How- ever, in a 2-teacher school in Shelby County (where negro schools are operated for a two-months shorter term than are white schools) visited on the last day of the term for negro schools, the principal said that the school was to be kept open for two weeks longer, both teachers staying there without any salary, beceause thfe children and their parents both de- sired it in order that the children might complete their grade. With few exceptions, the only schools that do not fall in this category are the Rosenwald schools, built during the last few years with private aid. According to a report of the Rosenwald Fund, April 15, 1920, 98 schools had been built in Tennessee at a total cost of $205,725 ; of this, the Rosenwald Fund contributed $36,700, the State $96,250, white people $4,976, and colored . people $67,808. In addi- tion to aid in construction the buildings, Mr. Rosenwald contributes toward supplementing the term in these schools Although some of these buildings are not well located or properly constructed, they are vastly superior to the old type. One of the best colored elementary schools in the South is the Shelby County Manassa Street School, a suburban school. It is better than most white schools in other coun- ties. The grounds are well planned and attractive; about $600 has been -paid for grading, laying walks, shrubbery, etc. — all by the students and patrons. The building is of stucco, attractive in appearance, well kept, and spotlessly clean. There are sanitary drinking fountains and acid toi- lets in the building. Eight grades are taught, the en- rollment is over 600, and 16 teachers are employed.. In the primary grades, handwork, such as paper cutting, is stressed. Beginning with the fourth grade and continuing through the 8th, regular industrial work is given, sewing, shuck work, basketry, cooking, manual training of a practi- 242 Child Welfare in Tennessee cal sort, mop-making, etc. The mops are sold to a firm and the sewing pieces, baskets, etc., to the patrons of the school. The money is turned into the department for further equip- ment. Next year they hope to add a laundry and dining room to their domestic science equipment. In contrast to this Rosenwald-aided school is another school in the same county. An old and very poor church building is used, poorly lighted and unsuitable. There is no water on the school ground ; the toilets are wretched. There are no desks, and the teacher said : "When I give a writing lesson the children have to kneel on the floor and write on their benches." There is no industrial equipment for cook- ing or sewing, and no industrial work is given except shuck work and an occasional cooking lesson at a neighbor's house. In some other counties, even though the facilities are poor, industrial work is being developed. This is chiefly in connection with the county training schools (see below) ; but there is also some work done under the direction of county supervisors paid in part by the Jeanes Fund, the Gen- eral Education Board, and the State. There are 25 such supervisors, working in the following counties ; Bradley, Car- roll, Davidson, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Hamilton, Haywood, Hardeman, Henry, Humphreys, Lauderdale, Loudon, McMinn, Madison, Maury, Monroe, Montgomery, Robertson, Ruther- ford, Sumner, Tipton, Trousdale, Weakley, Williamson. The Jeanes Board contributed this year $4,000 for this work, and the General Education Board $3,500. The State and counties together ^re matching this, making a total of $15,000 for industrial supervision. The work of these su- pervisors varies in the different counties. In some, because of the lack of equipment or of ability or interest among the teachers, little is done other than shuck work and simple sewing; in other schools raffia work, embroidery, machine sewing, cooking and for the boys manual training, broom- making, shop work, etc., are taught. The Jeanes Fund also gave $210 this year to each of three counties with short terms to extend the term in a few schools two months. In many towns there are no colored schools under town SCHOOLS 243 administration ; they are under the county Board of Educa- tion and therefore do not profit from the town tax. Where there are town or city schools, however, though they shine in comparison with rural schools, conditions are not what they should be. Frequently an old frame building is used, entirely inadequate for school purposes; the equipment is insufficient, the teachers poorly paid and overworked. Fay- etteville, for instance, has a colored scholastic population of about 300. There is an 8 grade school in the city, enroll- ing 245 children and employing 4 teachers, paid $40-$60 a month. The school is located in the city but on a bare rocky hill,- the building is an old frame one with one main room used, large, dark, and in very bad condition. Another town Gallatin, has a splendid new white school. The negro school, however, is a wretched brick building built before the Civil War. It has one large room and three small ones, totally inadequate for schoolroom use, poorly lighted, and too small to accomodate enough desks for even one class. It is heated by common stoves, the blackboards are wooden, and there is little equipment ; 235 children are enrolled ; the average attendance is 75. There are 4 teachers, with salaries ranging from $35-$50 a month. Even in Nashville build- ings unfit for school purposes are in use. The annex to the Pearl High School, being used for the elementary grades, is another veteran, old poorly lighted, and entirely unsuit- able. Some rooms which are used as classrooms are sand- wiched in between other rooms; they have no windows, and are dependent for light and ventilation upon the other rooms, the walls not being solid. Some of the small rooms have no desks, but benches are placed around the wall. It is a wretched building, but the supervisor of colored schools says: "It accommodates a lot." In Eact Tennessee conditions are better. Inequalities are less striking, and fewer instances of positively shoking conditions are found. There are numerous mission schools in this part of the county under the various denominations, and some towns contract with these sqhools for the education of the colored children. In Morristown, for instance, all 244 Child Welfare in Tennessee colored children from the 1st grade on attend the Normal and Industrial College under the Methodist Church, the city paying in proportion to the number received. About $2,000 was paid last year. The city requires that the adopt- ed course of study be followed and the attendance law en- forced.. In Greeneville there is one public school and also a joint public and mission school which attempts to carry on work through the 12th grade. The education given the children in the mission schools is undoubtedly superior to that which the city could give for the amount of money which it appropriates to these schools or which it probably would give did the mission schools not exist. But it contra- dicts the idea of public education and is a shirking or respon- sibility on the part of the town. Another private fund, the Slater Fund, has given about $2,000 to supplement indus- trial teachers' salaries and to supply equipment for 7 negro schools located in towns, the town appropriating an equal amount. High school education for negroes has just begun to be developed. The four large cities have, of course, negro high schools ; and several other cities, such as Johnson City and Clarksville, give 2 or 3 years of high school work in connection with the elementary grades. County children may attend these schools, usually on the payment of tui- tion. Occasionally one or two rural schools are found in which the teacher gives a little advanced work for two or three children who have completed the 8th grade. The only real development of the rural high school outside of Hamilton County is the county training school established with the aid of the Slater Fund and the General Education Board. There are 9 such schools in Tennessee at present, located in Carrol, Fayette, Hardeman, Haywood, Madison, Lauderdale, Shelby, Tipton, and Wilson Counties. Three more are to be built this year — one in Henry County — one in Hardin, and the third not yet decided. These schools have 10 or 11 grades and lay emphasis on various forms of prac- tical work, such as agriculture, domestic science, manual training, shop work, shoe-repairing, etc. As would be ex- Schools 245 pected, the one in Shelby County is among the best, al- though additional buildings and additional desks are needed. This school has an enrollment of 480, of whom 14 are in the 9th and. 10th grades. Next year the 11th grade and possibly the 12th will be added. The school is located in the country; no free transportation is furnished, and most of the children drive or walk in. There is, however, a girls' dormitory accommodating 40. A boys' dormitory is badly needed. The school is open from July to April, with the exception of one month in the fall during the cotton- picking season. Fifteen teachers are employed. Indus- trial work begins about the 4th grade. For the younger children there is raffia and shuck work. For the older stu- dents thei*e is a well-equipper home economics course with cooking, sewing, and laundry departments; a shoe shop, a .manual training and work shop, a broom and mop shop, a Smith-Hughes agricultural course, etc. All of the work in these departments is done on a practical basis. The brooms and mops are sold to support the department ; shoes are repaired for the children and their patrons ; laundry work for the school is done; the chairs caned, etc. There is a special director for the shoe shop; the rest of the work is under an industrial teacher and a home economics teacher. The Wilson County Training School, at Lebanon, is smaller and probably more typical of the county training schools than is the Shelby County school. The school is located in the county seat and has an enrollment of 400, chiefly from the town. No dormitories and no free transportation al^ provided for students who come in from the county. There is a one-story frame building with 6 classrooms, and a sepa- rate building for industrial work ; 9 grades are taught, work after the 5th grade being departmental. A Smith-Hughes agricultural course is given. Manual training and agricul- tural mechanics is also taught, but the equipment is limited. There are sewing classes for the girls, but there are no sew- ing machines. Cooking classes also are held, and in spite of very limited equipment the cooking class prepares hot 246 Child Welfare in Tennessee lunches for the school. This school is not receiving much co- operation at present from the local board and is in need of funds for actual running expenses. Each of the county training schools receives $500 annually from the Slater Fund to aid in teachers' salaries. The Gen- eral Education Board appropriated last year $6,275 to aid them in purchasing industrial equipment, building teachers' cottages, and securing small libraries. The General Edu- cation Board is making an additional appropriation next year to supplement further teachers' salaries in these schools. Age and grade records for 5 of these schools show 75.6 per cent of the children in the elementary grade re- tarded. Contrary to what one might expect, this is greater than the per cent of those in the colored elementary schools of the four counties studied. This is probably due to three facts : (1) half of the latter were in Hamilton County, where the schools are above the average for the State; (2) the county training schools as they now are have not yet been functioning long enough to have in their higher grades chil- dren prepared in these schools; and (3) the standards of the training schools are higher and the grading probably more strict. Salaries paid teachers in the negro schools, rural, town and city, are so low that teachers find it difficult to live on them, let alone attend summer school and in other ways keep up the standards necessary for successful work. The average salary in the rural schools of the 4 counties inten- sively studied was about $40, and the average in the 50 other counties in which reports were secured is similar. In the 4 counties intensively studied 54 per cent of the colored teach- ers were paying board and only 48 per cent of the white teachers. And the average board was paid same for both white and colored— $25 a month in Hamilton County and $15 elsewhere. In towns and cities where expenses are greater the salary is not much higher. The salaries of the 17 teachers employed in Johnson City, Fayetteville, Maryville, and Gallatin ranged from $35 to $60 a month, with $48 as average. Even in Schools 247 the large cities the salaries are low. In Knoxville the mini- mum for negro elementary teachers is $15 -less than for white teachers; in Nashville the minimum for negro teach- ers in elementary schools is $24 less than for white schools and in high schools $35 less. The discrepancy between the white and negro teachers' salaries becomes greater as the sarary increases. Yet in comparison with the opportunities given them, negro teachers are better prepared than white. The best of the negroes go into teaching, because few other lines offer any possibilities of development ; but the best of the whites, as a rule, go into other better-paid professions. Most of the negro teachers in the rural as well as the city schools have had special training either at the Agricultural and Industrial Normal at Nashville or at one of the South- ern negro colleges; a good many of those teaching in the cities have had giraduate training in Northern universities. The percentage of negro teachers belonging to educational organizations and subscribing to educational periodicals is greater than that of the white teachers. As already pointed out, the facilities of the A. and I. Nor- mal are inadequate to handle the number of negro boys and girls desirous of attending. In view of the great need for trained negro teachers, and the excellent work this insti- tution is doing in preparing them, and also in view of the fact that it is the only State institution for the training of negro teachers and yet receives but one-seventh of the amount appropriated for normal schools, it is just that the State appropriation to this institution be materially in- creased. The General Education Board this year is appropriating $4,400 to aid summer schools for negro teachers in Ten- nessee. Of this amount $2,400 will be used to aid summer schools in salaries of teachers, $1,400 for sending special teachers to Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes, and $400 for sending fifty special teachers to the A. and I. State Normal at Nashville. The explanation for the conditions in the negro schools of Tennessee lies in the nlethod by which school funds are appor- 248 Child Welfare in Tennessee portioned. Aside from the decision of the State Board of Vocational Education (i. e., the State Board of Education) that one-fifth of the Smith-Hughes money should be used for negro schools, there is no regulation whatever as to how school funds should be divided between white and negro schools except the clause that all schpols in the county shall be run "as nearly as practicable the same length of time." In other words, the county superintendent and the county Board of Education can give as little or as much money to negro schools as they see fit. Th^ can refuse to construct or repair buildings, to buy equipment, in short to expend any money other than the minim\im necessary for teach- ers' salaries, and, in fact, in many cases this is the only, school expense met by the county Board. In several schools not only does the county furnish no equipment, but the run- ning expenses of the school and the repair of the building were borne by the patrons, and in one the school even had to raise money to dig a well. Such a system is wrong. The obligation of the State to educate its colored children is just as great as its obligation to educate white children. Negro children want to be educated. In many places the attendance of children actually enrolled is higher for the col- ored schools than for the white. This is true in the city of Nashville. In Knoxville, where figures were secured show- ing the amount of non-promotion and its causes, 25.3 per cent of the nonpromotion of white children was attributed to indifference and only 21.5 per cent of that of the colored children was so attributed. Even in rural communities the same thing is true, and true in spite of the fact that colored children frequently have to walk 3 or 4 miles to the school, authough under the compulsory-attendance law they are not required to do so. Every child is entftled to an educa- tion. Suitable buildings, adequate equipment, and well-paid teachers should be provided for negro schools and when the population is scattered a central school should be erected and transportation provided. Consolidation should be en- couraged and. high school facilities developed in every county. 'All of this requires funds, and funds for this pur- pose can be insured in only one way. Private funds should < Schools 249 not be relied upon for the development of the public schools of the State, white or colored. Yet in Tennessee practically the only progress among the colored schools is that which has come through the initiative of philanthropic funds, the 'county or State giving money only when some outside agency is offering a supplement. The regular school fund should be so divided between white and colored schools that facilities for the two races may everywhere be equal. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS The outstanding defects of the Tennessee schools are: (1) the short term; (2) poor attendance; (3) thie old-fash- ioned type of school building, poorly built and poorly equip- ped ; and (4) inefficient and untrained teachers. All of these evils work together to one end : they prevent the child from securing the education to which it is entitled. The State should provide a system of schools so operated and taught that a normal child can complete the work of the elementary grades by the end of his fourteenth year. But Tennessee does not. In the four counties intensively studied, age and grade records were taken for each school, and on a liberal 2-year basis (i. e., considering that a child 7 years old should be in the first or second grade, 8 years old in the second or third, etc.) nearly one-half of the children were retarded at least one year, and over one-third of those retarded were retarded for three years or more. White Percentage of children retarded Total No. Per cent Per cent Per cent of children Normal Advanced Retarded Smith -__ 1,802 40 3 57 ~ Monroe 356 28 2 70 Maury —-1,833 49 3 48 Hamilton 6,207 53 3 44 Total 10,198 49 3 48 « 250 Child Welfare in Tennessee Per Cent of Those Retarded 1 yr 2 yrs 3 yxs 4 yrs 5 yrs Smith - 35 29 19 9 4 Monroe 29 21 20 14 9 Maury 50 22 17 9 2 Hamilton . 44 28 16 7 3 Total 4 43 26 19 8 3 Colored Total No. Per cent Per cent of children Normal Advanced Smith 1G3 19 • 2 Monroe .--56 30 Maury "-- 318 30 1 Hamilton — - 832 33 _2 Total 1369 30 2 Per Cent of Those Retarded 1 yr 2 yrs 3 yrs 4 yrs 5 yrs Smith 11, 21 28 18 10 Monroe 15 30 19 3 13 Maury 21 17 20 16 13 Hamilton B7 21 20 12 5 Total 29 21 22 14 7 6 yrs 2 2 7 and Over 2 3 Per cent Retarded 79 70 69 65 68 7 and 6 yrs < Over 8 4 15 5 7 6 4 1 These tables are extremely significant and confirm the statement of this report. It will be seen that in Smith and Monroe Counties, where the terms are short, not only is there a greater percentage of children retarded, but the per- centage of children who are retarded three, four or five years is also greater than in Maury and Hamilton Counties, where the term is 8 and 9 months respectively. Hamilton County, where the consolidated school has largely replaced the one-teacher variety, has a much lower percentage of retardation than any of the other counties. With the ex- ception of Monroe, where only one school was studied, the retardation among colored children is much greater than among white, and this must be attributed in part at least to i the great inferiority of the colored schools. Even in the city schools retardation is great. Accord- ing to last year's record in Knovxille, 45.4 per cent of the Schools 251 white children were retarded and 55 per cent of the colored children. This large per cent is undoubtedly due in part to the higher standards of the city schools and their stricter gradation. Even so, however, the per cent is high, and, i-n view of the fact that the term is 91/2 months, it indicates either exceptionally poor teaching or excep- tionally poor attendance, probably some of both. In Nash- ville, on the same retardation basis, 39 per cent of the white children and 55 per cent of the colored children are retarded. This, however, is not comparable with the other schools, as in Nashville children of 6 years of age have not been admitted until last year. Changing the basis one year makes 17 per cent of the white children and 29 per cent of the colored retarded. This, however, cannot be used for comparison either; for, although children 6 years of age have been admitted to school in other communities, they have not been obliged to attend, and it is not fair to assume that in Nashville no children entered at six years and that elsewhere all children entered at that age. ' Some retardation is, of counrse, inevitable and is found in any school. Children mentally slow or actually deficient are in the schools, others have some physical defect such as poor eyesight which reacts upon their work, others may have been ill or irregular in attendance for legtimate rea- sons. But nothing other than poor schools, short terms, and wholesale disregard of the attendance law can explain such widespread retardation as exists in Tennessee schools. Children should not be allowed to suffer such a handicap. A few changes in administration, an increase in and re- apportionment of school revenue, an intelligent enforcement of the compulsory-attendance law, and the employment of tv^mpetent teachers are essential in order to raise the stana ard of public school education and to insure to the individ- ual child the education which it is the duty of the State to give. A summary of the changes which we believe are fundamental and will make possible the correction of the bad conditions found is given below: 252 Child Welfare in Tennessee RECOMMENDATIONS I. Administration A — State. (1) The State Superintendent of Public Instruction should be elected by the people of the State for a term of 4 years and should be eligible for re-election. (2) The supervisory. work of the State Department should be increased. The present offices of State In- spector of Elementary Schools and State Supervisor of rural schools (i. e., negro schools) should be changed to chief inspector and chief supervisor respectively, and these offices should be paid by the State of Tennessee, not out of a private fund. Under each of these men should be at lease 3 supervisors, 1 for each section of the State, employed specifically for this work or em- ployed in connection with the three State Normal Schools for part-time teaching and part-time super- vision. ■ (3) The State Board of Education should inspect and supervise educational work of all private and parochial schools, so far as children of compulsory-attendance age are concerned. (4) The State Board of Education should inspect and supervise the educational work of all institutions receiving children of compulsory-attendance age. (5) The State Board of Education should co-operate with the State Board of Health in the establishment and conduct of a Division of Physical Education to be carried on under the supervision of a person specially trained and qualified for the work. B — County. (1) The district and director systems should be abol- ished in the 8 counties where they now exist. (2) District advisory boards should be abolished. (3) The county superintendent should be appointed Schools 253 by th^ county Board of Education for a 4- year term. A minimuna salary of $2,000 and necessary expenses should be prescribed by law. (4) The county high schooL Board of Education should be abolished, and the county elementary Board of Education should be given control of all schools, both elementary and high. (5) Every county Board of Education should be re- quired to appoint at least one full-time assistant to the superintendent for supervisory and clerical work. In counties with a scholastic population of over 5,000 there should be at least one assistant for supervision and a separate person for clerical work. — Cities. (1) Independent school systems in all cities under 5,000 population should be abolished and the control of the schools vested in the county Board of Educa- tion. (2) All special school charters for cities over 5,000 population should be abolished and a uniform system of city school administration adopted. (3) The schools of cities with independent school systems should be subject to the inspection and super- vision of the State Board of Education, and the State Board of Education should be empowered to prescribe and enforce minimum standards for city schools. II. Funds (A) While some increase in school funds should come through an increase in the county tax, the most inpor- tant change to be made is to increase the special State wide tax for rural schools, The amount of increase necessary cannot be determined until the returns under the new assessment law are known. (B) The interest on the permanent school fund and the 61 per cent of the general education fund now dis- tributed on the basis of scholastic population should be 254 Child Welfare in Tennessee distributed two-thirds on the basis of aggregate daily- attendance, one-third on the basis of number of teach- ers employed. (C) The 5-cent special school taxT, now distributed one-third on the basis of scholastic population, one-third equally among counties, and one-third as an equaliza- tion fund, should be used entirely as an equalization fund and administered under the conditions now pre- scribed by law. III. Attendance. (A) The school census should be taken annually while the schools are in session on blank forms pre- scribed by the State Department of Education contain- ing the items enumerated on page . In the rural schools it should be taken by the teachers under the supervision of the chief attendance officer of the county. In cities where permanent census bureaus are estab- lished the census should be taken by the staff of these bureaus. (B) The law requiring counties to appoint attend- ance officers should be enforced and State funds with- held if no officer is appointed. The attendance officer should supervise the taking of the school census, en- force the compulsory-attendance law, and issue work permits. (C) Every city with an independent school system should be required to appoint one attendance officer for every unit of 5,000 children of scholastic population or fraction thereof. In the four large cities perma- nent census bureaus should be organized. The attend- ance officers or census bureaus should have the same duties in the city that the county officers perform in the county. (D) The compulsory-attendance law should be amen- ded by eliminating the exemption for children "whose parents through extreme destitution cannot pro- vide sufficient clothing" and by definitely providing that children between 14 and 17 who have completed ; Schools 255 the 6th grade may be excused if regularly employed and attending a part-time class of continuation school. (E) The juvenile court should be given exclusive jurisdiction in iall attendance cases, whether brought against the parent or the child, (F) The establishment of part-time classes or con- tinuation schools in any city or town where more than 15 children under 17 years of age are employed should be made compulsory. All working children between 14 and 17 who have not completed the 8th grade should be required to attend such school during the working day for at least eight hours a week for the entire school term. These schools should be supported and controlled by the public school authorities. IV. Negro Schools. (1) The great need is increased funds f or Jbuildings, equipment, and salaries. (2) The appropriation to the Agricultural and In- dustrial Normal for Negroes should be increased. (3) The compulsory-attendance law should be en- forced equally for white and negro children. V. Teachers. (1) The salary schedule recommended by the Ten- nessee State Teachers' Association should be adopted for rural schools. (2) The salary schedule recommended by the Na- tional Education Association should be adopted for city schools. (3) Temporary certificates and one-year certificates granted without examination to high school students should be abolished. (4) Graduation from a standard four-year high school or its equivalent, and the completion of 2 years of normal school work or of 4 years of successful teach- 256 Child Welfare in Tennessee ing experience, should be made the minimum require- ment for teaching in schools of cities with a population of 5,000 or over. The State Department should issue certificates for teachers in city schools, and all appli- cants for certificates should be required to show ap- proved training in physical education. To this end all State institutions offering teacher-training courses should provide adequate courses in physical education. CHAPTER IV. RECREATION BY RAYMOND G. FULLER This report deals with play, playgrounds and amuse- ments. The treatment, given these subjects, which are re- garded as coming within the meaning of the general term "recreation," is governed by the following considerations: First, the negative attitwde of the public at large towards recreation, this attitude in some cases going ibeyond mere indifference to open antagonism without constructive pur- pose ; second, the negative situation that prevails in respect to recreational facilities, and the lack, so far as the state is concerned, of adequate law and administrative machinery for the carrying out of a comprehensive recreational policy, if one existed; and third, the primary purpose of the re- port, which is to suggest the place of recreation in a state children's code. 1. PLAY AND CHILD LABOR. In Tennessee, as in the rest of the country, people some- times say that child idleness is as bad as child labor, or worse, while others take the contrary position. It is a futile argument. Child idleness and child labor are both bad. But it is poor logic that assumes child idleness to be the alternative to child labor, or child labor to be the alter- native to child idleness. For child labor there are several substitutes — schooling is one, play and especially super- vised play is another, and children's work is a thir(^. It is to play as a substitute for child labor that attention is in- vited here. Attention is also invited to the fact that the values of play to individual and society are not yet popu- larly and universally understood. Indeed, there exists, in 258 Child Welfare in Tennessee Tennessee as elsewhere, a rather common belief or notion that child labor is better for children than play. In the expression of this opinion the use of the term "child labor" may be avoided, but the opinion is not thereby affected. Play is often regarded as practically identical with idleness. It is regarded as a waste of time. The real waste of time is in not playing — and in going to work too soon. Childhood is properly play-time, not work-time. By no means is a workless childhood implied, but the work of children should be children's work in amount and kind — and not child labor. Nor is a playless adulthood implied either as a fact or as a desideratum. Grown-ups play and ought to play. In a recent psychological essay Professor Patrick so defines play as to include practically all the ac- tivities of children and a large share of those of adults, such, • for instance, as baseball, football, tennis, golf, polo, bil- liards and countless other games and sports; diversions such as travelling, hunting, fishing, yachting, motoring, flying, dancing, vacation outings, games, races, spectacles, fairs, amusements, and expositions; the theatre, opera, moving pictures, lectures and entertainments; the enjoy- ment of music, painting, poetry, and other arts; the daily paper, the magazine, the short story, and the novel. A dif- ference is sometimes noted between the play of children and the recreation of adults; but adults play in response to purely and distinctly playful impulses, and children in school or at work have need and desire for that recreation which is diversional, relaxational, re-creative. The child labor problem and the recreational problem are clearly related to each other and both are important phases of the general problem of child welfare. The evil in child labor may be gauged according to several different methods of approach. We may adopt the physiological approach and regard child labor as pi-incipally a health problem. We may adopt the psychological approach and think of child labor as primarily a problem in human personality. We may adopt the sociological approach and think of it chiefly in terms of social welfare and group progress. In each case we may concentrate at- Recreation 259' tention either on what child labor does to some children or on what society ought to do for all children — on the harm actually inflicted or on opportunities denied. There is a growing tendency to emphasize the denial of opportunities. The child labor problem and the recreational problem both rest on the same conception of childhood — ^childhood as playtime — and this conception is shared fully by the physi- ologist, the psychologist and the sociologist, whose agree- ment on this point is not at all surprising when it is re- membered that the child is a unit physical and psychical, within himself, and is, moreover, the fundamental unit of society. The child's right to childhood means the right to childhood as playtime. It is not a right that comes to him by virtue solely of the values arising from play — the values to individual and society — ^but is a right by virtue of inherit- ance. The child's right to childhood as playtime is written in biological laws that cannot be repealed. The penalties for violation of these laws are sure and certain, and are visited upon the children, though the responsibility is not theirs, but that of parents and society. No satisfactory answer to the question, "What is play?" has yet been given. Several explanatory theories, however, notably those associated with the names of Lazarus, Groos, Schiller (and Herbert Spencer), Stanley Hall and Prof. G. W. T. Patrick. Space is lacking in which to discuss or even summarize these theories, but this can be said : their authors all recognize that play springs from some inner compulsion of nature. Play is natural, as natural as human nature itself. Its naturalness, as all modern psychologists tell us, is due to its instinctiveness. The play impulse is innate, inborn, not acquired. William James refers it to a definite, specific play instinct. McDougaU denies that only of the many varieties of playful activity may be ascribed to an instinct of play — ^but says, "nevertheless play must be reckoned among the native tendencies of the mind of high social value." Thomdike regards the activities of play as depending on a complex or combination of instincts or instinctive tendencies, all functioning more or less together, and speaks in this connection of manipulation, facial ex- &60 Child Welfare in Tennessee pression, vocalization, multiform physical activity, multi- form mental activity, the hunting instinct, the fighting in- stinct, and so on. Then he mentions "the special tendencies ' to hunt for hunting's sake in ways notably different from th^ 'real' hunt, to fight for fighting's sake in ways notably different from the 'real' fight; to fondle and pet in ways notably different from the 'real' mothering." These he speaks of as "possible instincts of play proper." The fine points of the psychological definition of play need not detain us here. There may not be a separate, irreducible play instinct, but play is instinctive, for all that, and in a sense no less true because it avoids technicalities on which the psychologists themselves are not agreed. Play Is rooted and grounded in instinct; it has an instinctive basis. We may go farther and say that while play may involve the, opera- tion of many instincts that originate, also activities that are not play, nevertheless manipulation is not play, run- ning is not play, throwing; is not play, hiding is not play, fighting is not play, response to the constructive instinct is not play, nor is any combination of these activities play, without an additonal element. The original source of this additional element we may call playfulness, or the play in- stinct, or the play impulse, or the play tendency, or the play disposition, what we will. It is only necessary to acknowl- edge that there is something in play that is play and nothing else, something that cannot go by any other name, and that play comes from innate playfulness for which no other instinct, or impulse, or tendency, or disposition can fully account, either by itself or in combination. Play is from within, by congenital hereditary impulsion. The play impulse that comes from within has to be awak- ened from without. Its appearance — though where it be- gins and mere multiform activity leaves off, it is difficult to say — requires a stimulus from environment. To become full-fledged it demands a playmate — "Oh, Skin-nay! C'mon over!" Mowgli's playmates were the animals of the forest — Mowgli pla.yed. Kinship made them play, play made them kin. Play is essentially a social instinct, in origin and manifestation. To be developed and strengthened, the play Recreation 261 instinct or tendency requires exercise, expression, and this implies opportunity in the shape of time. Actual play in its many forms and varieties is the product of the constant inter-action between heredity and environment. Instinct, tradition, imitation of the occupations of adults, and myriad other factors determine the forms of play, which vary with the different age-periods of childhood, with the sexes, with race and locality. In the prepubescent period play is largely individualistic in character, in early adol- escence predominantly socialistic — this is the gang period of childhood. Only recently have girls begun to play and -enjoy co-operative games. Team games in certain coun- tries are almost unknown. Play thus expresses both heredity and environment ; its forms are influenced by both. It is also self -expressive. It is self-developing. To the child it is experience at its richest, life at its fullest. It is the medium in which he can best grow and develop, not only physically, but mentally and morally. Nature, instead of telling the child to grow and develop and. instructing him in ways and means, endowed him with the play impulse. That the child shall play is important; but how he shall play, then, becomes equally important. Says Joseph Lee: "If you want to know what a child is, study his play; if you want to affect what he will be, direct the form of {)lay" — and if you want to affect what he shall not be, guard the conditions of play. This last is a negative ideal, but not negligible. Play is natural not only because it originates in original human nature, but because it conforms at every moment of the child's life to the genetics of his growth and develop- ment. It reflects the neuro-muscular co-ordinations establish- ed at the time and establishes those that are ready to be formed. It reflects also the various instinctive tendencies (or many of them) as they ripen — and helps to ripen and streng- then them. In short, it obeys the self-finding and self-devel- oping push within the child. It also reflects the limitations of the child as regards these neuro-muscular co-ordinations and psychic motives. In free, spontaneous play no move- ment is made or action performed ahead of its natural and 262 Child Welfare in Tennessee normal tim^ — ^there is no unreadiness of body or of mind for that movement or that action. Free, spontaneous play is never false to nature, but always according to nature. It fosters no prematurities or precocities of physical or psy- chical developmen't. Its activities', being timely, are without that defective motivation so favorable to cumulative fatigue, which in turn is favorable to deformation of the body and to the dread diseases of personality — ^the various neuroses and psychoses. Play is according to nature, then, not only as a mani- festation of the play impulse, but as an expression of pos- sessed motives and capacities and a furtherer of all the processes of growth and development. The naturalness of play gives it interest. According to Hall, interest and play are one and inseparable as body and soul. Play is never monotonous. When play loses interest it ceases to be play, and becomes work; when work loses interest it becomes drudgery. Interesting work is, to that extent, play. It is largely the interest inherent in play that makes it develop- mental, hygienic and educative. Gulick traces the play in- terest to the phylon. "The racially old is seized "by the in- dividual with ease and joy." The motions and motives of play are racially old — they go back beyond the Aryans, they are old as humanity itself, and some are older. Says Cur- tis : "The motions represented in play are very ancient, the remnants of old racial activities. The nervous paths are ready formed, and consequently skill is acquired more easily and the individual is able to do more muscular work with less effort in play than he is in any other activity." Play never practices what is phyletically new. Play is the purest expression of heredity. The ancient race renews its youth in the individual, and this is play. The young are young and the old are made young. Groos avers that children are young because they play and not vice versa, and Hall adds that "men grow old because they stop playing, and not con- versely, for play is, at bottom, growth, and at the top of the intellectual scale it is the eternal type of research from sheer love of truth." Naturalness, interest, spontaneity, zest, growth, self-expression, aspiration, youth — ^this is play and the soul of play. Recreation 263 Muscles, neuro-muscular co-ordinations and paths of nervous discharge that are racially old are the first, gen- erally speaking, to develop in the individual. Racial heredi- ty is peculiarly potent in childhood. This is the time, pre- eminently, of the fundamental muscleS' — those of the arms, legs, trunk — rather than the smaller, accessory muscles ; the time of the co-ordinations involved in running, throwing, striking, rather than those involved in the finely adjusted movements of the fingers, for instance, these being associ- ated with a later stage of racial history and with the higher thought processes in the individual. Over-emphasis of the accessory muscles at the expense of the fundamentals re- sults in excessive nervous strain and fatigue. In play the fundamental muscles receive the lion's share of exercise, which is well for the child, especially since it frequently happens that in school there is premature and excessive training of the finer muscle centers and, through the de- tailed analysis and exact definitions so often required of young children, a violation of the natural order of brain development. • The child is thus saved from nervous disas- ter. Play represents the normal motor life. Away back in racial antiquity, it was a necessity of survival to run with speed, to dodge, to throw with accuracy, to strike with a club. These abilities were of prime importance to individ- uals and the race. Individuals who did not possess them were eliminated. The boys who liked to run, who had an instinctive desire to run, were best fitted to cope with the environment as they grew up. The love of running, dodg- ing, throwing, striking, surv^ives the child of today. In that far-off time the muscular and nervous systems were perfected, and certain definite motor tendencies and co- ordinations established, that are still essential to the devel- opment of the individual organism. So fascinating is this explanation of play on the basis of racial and motor heredity, as set forth by Hall, Curtis, Gulik and Patrick, that the temptation to quote a few para graphs from Patrick on this subject can hardly be resisted. He writes as follows : "The mental habits of the child seem like echoes from 264 Child Welfare in Tennessee the remote past, recalling the life of the cave, the forest, and the stream. The instinct exhibited in infancy, as well as in babyhood, to climb stairs, ladders, trees, lamp-posts, anything, reminds us of forest life; the hide-and-seek games which appeal so powerfully even to the youngest children recall the cave life of our ancestors, or at least some mode of existence in which concealment from enemies, whether human or animal, was the condition of survival ; while the instinct of infants to gravitate toward the nearest pond or puddle, the wading, swimming, fishing, boating proclivities of every youngster, seem like a reminiscence of some time when our fathers lived near and by means of the water. "Diuring a long period in the evolution of life among the higher animals and in the early history of man the one all- important factor was speed, for upon it depended safety in flight from enemies and capture in pursuit. This ancient trait has persisted and survives today in a deep instinctive joy in -speed, whether exhibited in running or coasting or skating or in the speed mania which lends such delight to motoring, flying, fast sailing, and fast riding. "Again, the ancient life of pursuit and capture persists upon every playground in the familiar games of tag, black- man, pull-away, and a hundred others. Indeed, for the exhibition of this instinct, no organized game is necessary. Sudden playful pursuit and flight are seen wherever children are assembled. The ancient life of personal combat is mir- rored in the plays of children in mimic fighting and wres- tling. The passion of every .boy for the bow and arrow, sling, sling-shot, gun, or anything that will shoot, reveals the persistence of deep-rooted race habits, formed during ages of subsistence by these means. "There was a time when man lived in close relation with and dependence upon wild and domestic animals. This period is reflected in many forms in the child's life, in his animal books, his animal toys, his Teddy bears, in his nu- merous animal plays. The former deoendence of man upon the horse is shown in the instinct of the child of today to play horse, -tq ride a rockinghorse, or a stick, or anything. The child's first musical instrument, the rattle, the drum, Recreation 265 and the horn, were the first musical instruments of primi- tive man." We come now to a point of extreme significance to our present inquiry into the relative merits of play and work in childhood, and (because it has been so well stated by Patrick we employ his words again : "There is a striking similarity between the plays of children and the sports of men on the one hand and the pursuits of primitive man on the other. This similarity is due to the fact that those mental powers upon which advancing civilization depends, especially volun- tary and sustained attention, concentration, analysis, and abstraction, are undeveloped in the child and subject to rapid fatigue in the adult. Hence the child's activities and the play activities of the adult tend always to take the form of old racial pursuits." A few pages farther on he expands this idea by saying: "Those forms of mental response which are developed late in the history of the race, and late in the life of the child, that tense and strenuous activity upon which modern progress depends, the power to hold our- selves by sustained attention and sustained effort down to hard and uninteresting tasks for the sake of some ultimate end, the concentration of the mental forces upon problems, of science, philosophy and invention, and the inhibition of old and undesirable responses — all these bring quick and extreme fatigue, and demand rest for the corresponding parts of the brain. In. sleep' these higher mental processes enjoy almost complete suspension. But the exercise of these powers during the long hours of our waking day would re- sult in speedy collapse. It is clear therefore that our daily activity must be made up quite largely of responses of the simpler type, which shall give exercise to our muscles and sense organs and invoke older and more elemental forms of mentality, and at the same time allow the higher ones to rest. Such is relaxation in all its forms, and of such con- sists almost wholly the life of the child. For the brain tracts associated with the above mentioned forms of mental activity are undeveloped in the child, as they are in early man, so that we may say with considerable truth not that the child ought not to work, but that he can not work." Certainly a true work interest seldom appears before 266 Child Welfare in Tennessee early adolescence. The child does not know what work is — even as a child laborer he does not really know. His psycho- logy is inadequate. Of course, we shall find a host of young newsboys who are having, as they suppose, the time of their lives, on the streets, but on careful analysis we shall find among them more of the play interest than of the work Interest. A few. may ibe working out of a sense of filial devotion and not a few with the motive of thrift ; but in the majority of cases a large part of the newsboy's small earn- ings is not going to his parents or into the bank, but is being spent for candy, movies and various other forms of self-indulgence and self-display. Moreover, work that is performed from filial or thrifty motives does not yield a valid and finally helpful conception of work as work. The idea of child labor as a training school for adult work is erroneous for many reasons. Work that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred never gets the child anywhere is poorly calculated to bring about a right conception of work or a right attitude toward work. It is only children's work, and not child labor, that can teach respect for work — a vir- tue that should of course be inculcated in all children. Play is better than work as a developer of the physical and men- tal qualities required in adult work. It is nature's prepara- tion for all activities of later life. Play as preparation wll be discussed presently. Every instinctive tendency is manifested in play and there perfected for future use. At its various stages it is based upon the fundamental instinct feelings. We have noted that in the pre-pubescent period play is individualistic, and in early adolescence socialistic. This is in response to definite instinctive tendencies. It may be said that the play interest depends in large part upon the expression and satis- faction of such instincts underlying play, as : the parental instinct, constructiveness, the dramatic instinct, curiosity, pugnacity, self-assertion, gregariousness, acquisitiveness, emulation, imitation. These are all manifested and devel- oped in play, and give play much of its characteristic pleas- urableness. These also are involved in pleasurable work. The pleasurableness of play is in the playing, without Recreation 267 thought of remuneration or reward. The pleasurableness of work may ibe in the working, if work is sufficiently in accord with the racial inheritance of motor tendencies and capacities and instinctive motivations, and then it is play. Other work tends toward a large nervous expenditure for a small muscular result and in general toward fatigue and its attendant evils and dangers. Play, it is true, may lead to utter exhaustion, but it is accompanied throughout by interest and ended with satisfaction ; it is cathartic, sanify- ing ; and recuperation is, quicker and surer. It is not apt to lead to cumulative fatigue. The effects of excessive play are easier slept off than the effects of excessive work. Summing up the preceding discussion of play and work for children from the standpoint of racial heredity, we may say that: 1. Play has intrinsic value as an agency conducing to normal growth and development. Work possesses no such developmental value in itself. 2. Play follows the genetics of physical and psychical development, and work does not, unless carefully chosen and supervised, and even then there is danger of mistake. 3. Play fosters no physical and physiological prematuri- ties or nervous and mental precocities. Work often does. So does school. 4. Play never practices what is phyletically new. Work often does, and is therefore inimical to development and health, both physical and psychical. 5. Play causes no overspecialization in the use of any muscle or group of muscles. Work often does. In play, one kind of activity is continued only as long as the activity is agreeable, many parts of the body are exercised in a variey of ways, and usually no one part for very long with- out change. In work the case is likely to be otherwise. 6. In play the parts having the most utilizable energy are freely active. In work the least available energy, is often used. In play the fundamental muscles get their proper amount of activity. In work the accessory muscles are frequently overemphasized at the expense of the funda- mental and for too long a time — such work sows the seeds 268 Child Welfare in Tennessee of chorea and produces neurasthenic symptoms in great variety. 7. No activity in play is performed with defective psychic motivation. Many activities in work are defectively motivated. With play as play the child is en rapport; with work on the plane of adult psychology he has no common bond. 8. Play is childhood's heritage and the one means by which it can attain its heritage of symmetry, normality and health of body and mind. Our reference is to play at its fullest, truest, best — free, spontaneous play in abundance and variety — but unfortu- nately much of the play of children is not ideal or carried on under ideal conditions. Play should be supervised, but without robbing it of- its spontaneity. It is by no means cer- tain that children will play enough or always in the right ways. The play life may be starved, anemic, perverted, one- sided. Over-indulgence in some one form of school athletics is possible and harmful. Many children never learn how to play, and let scuffling and stone-throwing suffice. Knowl- edge of games is essential to play — children may invent them or acquire them by oral tradition, but the supervisor can teach them. Leadership is essential to play, and the supervisor can both lead and develop leaders. Numbers are essential at times — some games two can play; others require more. In the country places it is only at the school- house that children are likely to have a sufficient number of playmates. If two children constantly play together, one as leader and the other as follower, the result is bad for both, as the instinct of domination becomes overdeveloped in the first and the instinct of submissiveness in the second. But with play-places and supervision all the potentialities of play can be realized and its innumerable educative values utilized. Work as well as play requires supervision, and for rea- sons some of which apply to play and some of which do not. Work must not be too hard or too continuous. It must no't conduce to excessive fatigue or faulty postures or bad motor habits. It must not cause over-development of but one Recreation 269 muscle or part, or overstrain the accessory muscles. It must not be carried on amid noisy or insanitary surroundings. On the positive side every operation and task would have to be considered with reference to orthopedic value, the de- velopment of muscles and parts, the motor habits favored, the interest evoked and maintained. The educative value of the work would be a prime consideration. Any activity ceases to be educative the moment it becomes monotonous and automatic. Work would also have to be considered with reference to the time and energy it, took from school- ing and the time it took from play. The values derived from the actual work performed by the child would have to be compared with the values to be derived from full-time schooling on full strength and with the values to be derived from play, plentiful at least and supervised if possible. Work meeting all these tests would be children's work and not child labor — small in amount and leaving abundant time for schooling and play. The proper work'-places for supervised work are the home and the school, and not — to use the term generically — the factory, which functions for profit and is little likely in our day and generation to undertake the supervision of children's work in the interest of the child. The supervision of children's play is becom- ing daily more and more of a reality, but play even without supervision is better than child labor. So strong is the play impulse that even the child laborer plaiys. In the midst of rapidly-moving machinery, and de- spite admonitions and warnings, children will play. In the country at large, three times as many children as adults, in proportion to the number employed, are victims of industrial accident. This is partly due to the strength, the irrepressibility, of the play impulse. Child laiborers may play also after the hard day's work. If children have energy enough to play after long toil, then why not exculpate child labor? Some children don't play after their work; they are too tired. But some do. It may be a bursting forth of the pent-up play impulse, or it may be a quest of relief and relaxation after toil and monotony. The fact that the child has seemingly boundless energy, energy enough to work 270 Child Welfare in Tennessee hard and then play hard, is apt to deceive us. Expenditure of energy is not to be regarded, however, solely as to the amount which the child is able or willing to expend, but chiefly as to the energy that can be spared. Physical growth and development depend on the reserves of energy. If it is to be symmetrical and normal, energy must not be drained to the bottom. The reservoira must not be emptied. We may note that much of the play of the child laborer after work is not active physical play, but passive play. Instead of the games of the playground he seeks amusement at the movies or the carnival. His tired and jaded nerves want stimulation. He craves excitement. So it happens that child labor conduces either to an over-strenuous leisure or an over-indulgence in amusements that have about the same effect on his nervous system as drugs — ^temporary and arti- ficial stimulation, without restoring or increasing the re- serves of energy. These amusements are night amusements to a large extent, taking time needed for sleep; many of them are indoors in crowded, stuffy, noisy rooms ; they are likely to be furnished by commercialists, whose primary object is money-making, not man-making. The muscular exercise that a child laborer gets is fre- quently lauded and work declared to be as good as play in this respect. The amount of muscular exercise in child labor may be as great as the amount in play, but it is not likely to be as varied. Certainly a boy will never become an athlete from standing at a loom, or shucking oysters, or delivering packages or picking berries. The muscular exercise that really develops muscles is not that common in factory employment. Dr. Fl-eiberg says on this point: "Exercise is our only means of strengthening the muscles, of encouraging their development, but the building up of a muscle which is actively growing and developing must be accomplished by exercises which are not too severe, which are not too long continued and which are of constantly varying character. Furthermore, the muscle which carries out exercises must be given frequent periods of rest, dur- ing which it may recover ; it should be given an opportunity to build up again that which has been consumed by use." Exercise is the factory that develops all the muscles and Recreation 271 parts proportionately is still less common. Farm work as physical exercise has much to commend it, but here again a good many facts are often left out of consideration. Says Andress : "The clearing of the forests and the coming in of machinery have revolutionized the modes of muscular activity. The healthful exercise of swinging the axe to fell the trees of the forest, or to clear away the underbrush, is a thing of the past. The vigorous exercise of ploughing among stumps and stones or swinging a scythe in the hay- field is no longer a characteristic of farm life. The ploughs, cultivators, rakes, mowing machines, binders, headers, and other implements convey the farmer over his land and diminish the amount of his physical exercise. The work that the boy does with his hands is frequently pulling weeds, hoeing, or the like. Such work tends to cramp the chest and bring the shoulders forward? If he drives a team he sits on a seat that has no back and assumes a cramped posi- tion. Children on the farm may develop considerable mus- cular srength, but this is becoming less important each year. There is little exercise which develops vital strength, vigor of heart, lungs, and digestion." Curtis says : "Coun- try boys and girls are apt to be round-shouldered and flat- chested, with forward-slanting heads. Boys who have done much hard work are usually awkward and clumsy, almost without that grace and suppleness that are characteristic of a child who has been trained through play. Country children generally have more stable nerves than city chil- dren. Their digestion is commonly good. But they are apt to be deficient in lung capacity and heart development." All these facts are answers to the hundreds of farmers who take a skeptical or hostile attitude toward play and playgrounds, declaring that their children have all the ex- ercise they need in the work they do. As an argument against play this is no argument at all, not only because the facts are against it, but because play is the life and spirit of childhood, and exercise is only incidental to it. It is psychical, not physical ; it is emotional, mental, social. But farm-work does not even give well-rounded develop- ment from the physical standpoint alone. In the army camps it was found that city boys excelled country boys in 272 Child Welfare in Tennessee symmetry of body, in quickness and sureness of action, and in resistance to fatigue, as well as in mental alertness. The disadvantage of country life in all these respects can be overcome best through play and especially supervised play. It is not necessary that farm work for childten be entirely abolished, but there is need for supplementary and correc- tive activities. There must be available time for play — without it the provision of play facilities and play super- vision will not suffice. One of the chief indictments against child labor is that it deprives children of opportunity to play. W.e do not, without a little thought, appreciate fully what this indict- ment means. To rob children of childhood as playtime is to rob then? of childhood itself, for as Wood says: "Children love play as all young beings love life, because life is play. The child's life is one of physical, mental and moral devel- opment. Development means self-expression, self-expres- sion means activity and activity means play. . . . Chil- dren do not play deliberately from ulterior motives; with them it is play for play's sake;' play is life, they live to play; they are children because they play." It has been said that "the child who has not played has 'missed half of life." Rather he has missed childhood, which is more than half of life, since, in Froebel's words, "the whole later life of man, even to the moment when he shall leave it again, has its source in the period of childhood." Waddle says: "The child must play or he cannot become a man." That is, play is functionally related to the growth and development of body, mind and soul. The values of play are as \'aried as the values of life. They are values that are not merelj values to the child in childhood ; they are values that last a lifetime. They are permanent. When we consider the child-labor evil from the physical and physiological standpoint, we have to consider not only the immediate effects but the effects that may not appear until adulthood; then we have to consider the physical and physiological values of play and with reference not only to the immediacy but to the ■ permanency of these values. Childhood is the time for laying up treasures of health and strength to be enjoyed and utilized in later years. The Recreation 273 building of a strong, healthy body by means of play fortifies against disease and gives power of resistance long, long afterward. Play strengthens and develops the bodily tis- sues, increases the vaso-motor reactions, stimulates all physiological processes', normalizes the vegetative processes, rids the body of accumulated toxins by oxygenation and elimination. Far more important than any muscular devel- opment, or any increase in strength, speed or complexity of movements, is. vitality. Play is normalizing, sanifying, vitalizing. It tones up the whole physical system. All these results' are assets against the future. Physical tone conduces to mental tone, physical health to mental health. Play for this and other reasons is favor- able to mental health in adulthood; child labor is unfavor- able. Most disturbances of personality and mental func- tion, whenever they appear, trace their origin to childhood. The selective draft revealed a host of men with neurotic and neurasthenic symptoms. The number would have been smaller if there had been either less child labor or more childhood play. This fact is due in large part to the differ- ence between play and work in childhood as regards psychic motivation and the demands of racial heredity, as well as to peculiarities in the different environments of play and work. Professor Yerkes writes: "In response to your question — 'Does child lalbor in fo^rms involving physical overwork, nervous overstrain, excessive fatigue, noisy sur- roundings, monotonous tasks, repression of 'play instincts' or 'work instincts,' issue in defective personality, nervous derangements arid mental diseases, appearing in childhood or in later life?' — I should say with assurance and emphasis, "Yes." Edmund C. Sanford, another distinguished stu- dent of the mind, writes in a letter that in his opinion a normal childhood would have reduced the percentage of neurasthenic and neurotic conditions uncovered by the draft and says .that "in such normal childhood -proper play is an important point." Dr. Pearce Bailey, Chief of the Section of Neurology and Psychiatry, Surgeon-General's Office, writing in The New York Times of functional nervous dis- ease, says, "Non-medical agencies, such as boy's clubs, boy 274 Child Welfare in Tennessee and girl scouts, settlement agencies, and playgrounds, promise most in the line of prevention." Play is a builder of character and a school of ethics, and contributes in this wise to its permanent values. It is far more, from the moral and ethical standpoint, than a pre- ventive of juvenile delinquency. Regardless of supervision there are some elements of character that are almost in- evitably developed in play, though wise direction and super- vision tends to distribute and enhance all the play values. Of the heathen virtue, of courage, estimable in our modern civilization. Dr. Gulick has written thus: "Courage was developed in man through the necessity of facing difficult and dangerous situations, through fighting, and fighting desperately, when the odds were against him. The means used were running, throwing and striking; these were the co-ordinations that became connected with courage. The disregard of pain came into being through standing and fighting regardless of suifering. Those agencies which shaped the neuro-muscular co-ordinations of the human arm no less truly shaped the fundamental qualities of man- hood which we regard as necessary to moral life — courage, endurance, the willingness to hang on and finish when one is sorely punished. All the active and positive virjtues are related to these old activities. . . The attitude of a boy who can play a vigorous, hard-fought game and control his temper — who can run on and finish the race, no matter how tired, no matter if his heart is pounding and objects are growing blank before him — is significant, not from the standpoint of muscular development, but of moral develop- ment. The natural tendency of the boy is to win these vir- tues in this old way ; these are the means by which courage and power came to man. We need not expect these quali- ties in our boys unless we give them similar opportunities, or opportunities that will act as sutostitutes." Play develops not only courage but confidence and self- reliance, not only mastery of body but self-mastery; it tends to simplify life and habits, and gives energy, decision and promptness to the will. It brings out both individuality and sociality, and in so doing cultivates individualistic and Recreation 275 socalistic virtues. The spontaneous play of prepubescence is individualistic. The morality then developed is Old Testa- ment morality. It is legal morality. Great indignation is felt and expressed over violation of rights. The rules of th^ games are exalted. Failure to abide by them is a high crime. It is not the age of self-sacrifice, but the age of the establish:- ment of justice and especially the maintenance of one's own rights. Fairness is cardinal. The cheater is scorned and very likely chastised. With early adolescence comes a change in the character of games. It is the time of group and co-operative play. It is likewise the time of the spon- taneous organization of boys into gangs. The gang is the natural product of early adolescent psychology. If left to its own leadership and its own devices it may become a moral menace, but it represents at bottom but the emerg- ence of sociality. It is the first form of social organization accomplished by its members. This in the play life of childhood is the age of teams — virtually, gangs at play. Baseball and football may be played earlier, but seldom then with the team spirit. There is co-ordination and co- operation in the team game. The members of the group work to the same end, but not all do the same thing. In team play there is obedience to the leader even if he is thought to be mistaken; here we have a high form of self- mastery. There is self-sacrifice — ^the sacrifice hit for the good of the team. Pain and discomfort are cheerfully borne for the sake of the cause. The gang and the team evince the great social virtues of loyalty and altruism and promote their growth. These are the chief factors in humanitarian- ism and social ethics, and at least important factors in patriotism and religion. They lie at the basis of all cohe- sion of groups and all successful co-operative effort. The cultural and esthetic elements in character are de- veloped in play. Much play is dramatic and imaginative in kind. Stories, heard or read or told, constitute play ma- terial. Folk tales, folk dancing, folk drama, folk music — all come within the category of play. Hall has described play as motor poetry — a rehearsal of tremendously ancient activities and experiences, a sort of re-telling of the story of the childhood of the race. Thus we would have to regard 276 Child Welfare in Tennessee the playing child as, in some sort, a poet, though doubtless he would hardly know himself as such. Perchance, in a still larger sense, he is more of a poet than he wots of, poet- izing life — without ignoring or obscuring its realities, but using them, rather, as the very materials of song and romance. His is a poetry of dreams and action. We cannot take a too materialistic or severely practical view of play, which represents attitude as well as activity. One of the differences between play and work is in the spirit in which activity is carried on. Play has much in common with art and with the motives of artistic production. The earliest forms of self-expression were probably music and dancing, growing out of playful experimentation and practice in childhood. It has been said that art — ^music, painting, sculpture, drama — is play, because of the spirit of joy and love in which the artist does his work and because it is self- expression and expression of ideals and aspirations. Con- scious art, at its best, is unconscious in its spirit and ex- pressiveness, as play is. Art is play, and play is the art of life — ^the joy of living, the pleasure of doing, the love of striving, the pursuit of the ideal, a partial fulfillment on earth of the heaven of the happy artists where No one shall work for money. And no one shall work for fame, And only the Master shall praise us. And only the Master shall blame ; But each for the joy of working. And each in his separate star. Shall paint the thing as he sees it. For the God of things as they are. Play is freedom in the bonds of life. We should take but a very inadequate view of play if we should fail to regard it as being, through wise direction and supervison, a potent instrument of development and education. This is not to assert that we can make the child what we will by our own effort, but rather to assert the exact opposite, that development is self-development and education is self -education. It is a question just how far Recreation 277 we can assist and further self -development and self-educa- tion, but a question we must answer to the best of our knowledge of child nature. There is truth in the old adage, "As the twig is bent, the tree's inclined" — ^truth with posi- tive as well as negative implications. \Vhat James said of schooling, "To detect the moment of instintive readiness for any subject is the first duty of every educator," has application to education in the broader sense that goes be- yond mere schooling and takes in the whole of personality and character. With education in this broader sense, home, church and playground have to do, not only the school; and' play, varied in instinctive motivation and in actual form, is a means of such education. The educative possi- bility depends on instincts. The instincts are inborn but do not all appear at birth. Each has its nascent period, as have the interests that are related to it. The instincts may be overdeveloped or underdeveloped, as the acquisitive and self-assei"tive instincts are ovei'developed in some forms of child labor and the social instincts underdeveloped in forms of child labor that deprive the child of sufficient and whole- some association with his fellows. All conduct is condi- tioned by instinctive tendencies, but not finally determined by them. Upon them worthy habits and interests are estab- lished, and only upon them; but unworthy habits and in- terests may also be established upon them. They are inade- quate of themselves for full development of character and pel•sonalitJ^ and have- to be supplemented by habit, intelli- gence and reason. They are variable, plastic, modifiable, subject to control. Every instinct is capable of being turned in either a right or a wrong direction, and there is nothing like play as a means 'to the achievement of a valuable result. It is a matter of some practical importance whether the instinctive tendency to throw something at something shall eventuate in a game of marksmanship or baseball or in the breaking of windows, which the boys may make a game; whether the dramatic instinct shall cause a pin to be placed in teacher's chair or be expressed in ways bene- ficial to the child and helpful to the teacher 'in her work: 278 Child Welfare in Tennessee • whether imitativeness and curiosity shall lead. to virtue or vice; whether the gang shall go to the dogs or be trans- formed into or anticipated by a club with worth-while ac- tivities, like the Boy Scouts. Of the instincts peculiarly in need of catharsis and sublimation, that of pugnacity is one. Fighting is a perfectly natural tendency and one whose escpression is entirely legitimate if not carried to excess. "A boy with no tendency to fight," says Kirkpat- rick, "would be unnatural as a child and probably a nonen- ity as a man. Nothing can be more unwise than to tell a child he must never fight. It is not only unwise but wrong to absolutely prohibit a child from fighting — wrong to his nature, and to that of other boys, who will thus be tempted to impose upon him." The world needs fighting men. One of the great problems of physical and moral pedagogy is rightly to temper and direct the fighting or pugnacious tendency. Waddle writes: "On the theory of catharsis certain strong instinctive tendencies, now no longer useful in their primitive form, require to be exercised in attenu- ated and modified ways until their period of nascency has passed and control of them has been attained. To illustrate, the pugnacious tendencies of- boys find suitaJble exercise in football, boxing and wrestling, instead of being allowed to run riot in quarrels and fights. If allowed proper oppor- tunity to explore, collect, fish, swim, hunt, to care for and train pets, and the like, boys have less tendency to destroy or steal property, to torment animals' or commit other anti- social acts. The decided decrease in anti-social outbreaks, when ample opportunity for play is provided by public play- grounds, is one of the best arguments for the theory" — and for play, especially supervised play. From the standpoint of catharsis and sublimation, nor- mality and control, play is of notable service in relation to the psycho-sexual life and the impulses and interests aris- ing therefrom. Properly directed play is not to be despised as an aid in the fight against social immorality and its con- sequent diseases. Physically, play conduces to sex normality. Mentally, through wise supervision, it is potent in rational- izing the attitude of the sexes toward each other; it con- duces to sex sanity. The problem of sex begins much Recreation 279 earlier than we have generally supposed and is- far more insistent. Curtis visited a rural school in a northwestern state in which every child — both little and big boys and girls — had been caught in self-abuse, and another in which nearly every boy and girl had been found in illicit relations. ' Physical exertise, especially that involving the fundamental muscles and carried on in the open air — such exercises as walking, running, dancing, skating, and coasting — is altera- tive and regulative of sex; Hall remarks that "there is a deep and close, though not yet fully explained reciprocity between the two." He notes that activity, the physical pleasui*e of it, may "diffuse, irradiate, and mitigate the sexual stress just at the age when its premature localiza- tion is most deleterious." Play in which the sexes join helps to prevent an excessive or too early sex-consciousness. It is desirable that boys and girls should play freely together in good comradeship as long as possible, without emphasis of sex distinctions or thought of love. The sex life of child- hood involves both homo-sexual (same sex) and hetero- sexual (other sex) components. "The period of puberty," says Dr. White, "while giving full play to the hetero-sexual tendencies, should equally stress the homo-sexual sublima- tions. The boy should have the opportunities of athletics, boys' clubs, games, and thus get full expression on this side rather than carry into adult life an unfulfilled component, which will be always seeking expression." The case is simi- lar with girls. Freud traces most of the hysteria among men and women to injuries and distortions of the sex life of chiWhood. It should be said, with reference not only to, the sex impulse, but to all impulses calling for catharsis, sublimation or special safeguarding, that child labor affords little or no opportunity for guiding them toward the high- est development of personality and character, but on the contrary often leads or drives them in unfortunate direc- tions, by the fatigue it engenders, the temptations it offers, the associates it throws' the child among, the balking of his normal desires, the absence of plentiful activities and in- terests to take up his time and thought and energy in wholesome and useful ways. The development and cultivation of the so-called social 280 Child Welfare in Tennessee instincts— -gregariousness, loyalty, altruism, co-operative- ness— through children's play furnishes valuable prepara- tion for adult work, as well as for adult life as a whole. It enables men to work together more easily and more effectively. It makes esprit de corps possible in the fac- tory. Charles Otis Gill, a sympathetic and profound stu- dent of country life, declares that one of the chief reasons why it is so hard for farmers to co-operate is the fact that they did not play together enough when they were young. Associative play discovers individuals to one another, edu- cates in the habit of co-operation, educates in the art of co-operation. Play among adults tends to have these ef- fects, but the time of times for bringing out and establish- ing sociality is the period of childhood. Not only do^ play have meaning for agricultural production by enhancing individual efficiency and favoring co-operative effort on the economic side of country life, but by contributing to the attractiveness and completeness of country life on its social side, thus helping to check the exodus from the country to the city of much of the best human stock that America pro- duces. Group and team play in childhood has significance, too, with regard to the problem of industrial strife. It in- itiates the individual into the ethics and amenities of the give-and-take of contest and encourages good sportsman- ship. Through such play the individual learns the rules of the game of life and acquires willingness to abide by them. If the rules are unfair the rules may be changed, but the spirit and manner of accomplishing the change will be fair and open and above-board. ♦ Among the instinctive tendencies developed in children's play and strengthened for future use is the play impulse itself. The ability to play is an undoubted asset to the adult worker. He needs it if he is to keep himself at maximum efficiency. He needs it in his leisure. He n^eds the play habit and the habit of physical exercise that goes with it. An eminent psychologist connected with the Aviation Serv- ice during the war relates this experience: "At Field there was a definite requirement made of all officers to the effect that they must be able to report at the end of Recreation .281 each week that they had done 12 units of physical exercise. This was one of thei best things I found at any of the avia- tion fields. If most of these individuals had had a normal play life in childhood, they would have taken their 12 units without any regulation from, the commanding officer, and they would not have objected as strongly as they did to the enforcement of this regulation. One of the greatest sur- prises to me was to hear medical officers complain about having to take this physical exercise. One of them in par- ticular gave me a great deal of trouble later because of his neurasthenia." But over and above the play impulse and the play habit is the play spirit, which represents' an atti- tude toward all endeavor and experience. The spirit of play, as Gulick says, has value as a philosophy of life. Cur- tis writes in similar vein : "Most of the work of the world might as well be play as work — it depends entirely on the spirit in which it is done. . . . Perhaps the greatest service that play has to render life is to give it the play spirit in which to do its work. The tragedy of child labor is that too often it kills the spirit of play itself." It is sometimes the deficiency of the worker and some- times the deficiency of the job that causes work to become drudgery. Play is its own reward, work not always; but there are many sources of that pleasurableness that makes work play, some of them residing in the work itself, others residing in the man or woman w'ho does the work. The motives of play are various and often complex, and so are the motives of work ; the motives of neither can be charac- terized in any brief formula. No hard and fast line between play and work can be drawn. The likenesses of work and play are at least as significant as their differences. The fundamental industrial problem is a problem of play. What do the workers really want? Leisure for play and recrea- tion — a leisure at once pleasurable and profitable, affording relief from irksome monotony and opportunity for self- expression. What else? Not leisure alone, but a chance to play in and through work — self-expressive work. The worker is entitled to work that gives him self-expression or certainly the time andi means of self-expression. Other- 282 ( Child Welfare in Tennessee wise his life is hopelessly flat and stale, otherwise he deteri- orates because s6 few of his powers are used. Not work, but zestless work, cheerless work, is the tragedy of work. The trend of standardized machine industry is against his finding a play interest and play satisfaction in work, but somehow some of the time he must play, or his balked and thwarted instincts will issue in controversy, clashes, brood- ings, and fights— in the psycho-pathology of repressed im- pulses and unfulfilled component^ of desire— the anarchism and rebellion of the playless worker. It is play — as self- expression — that keeps life sweet. One plays or grows sour. There are several definite instinctive tendencies that are clearly common to the motivations of both work and play, giving work some of its play interest and giving play some of its virtue as preparation for work. Conspicuous among these is the instinct of contrivance or constructive- ness. Its development through play, rather than its cathar sis or sublimation, is to be sought. This instinct is wide- spread in the animal world, among insects, birds and mam- mals, notably the beaver. It appears early in the life of the human individual. The great variety of block plays shows the interest in construction, as does the boy's desire to play with tools. Toys with which something can be done are more acceptable to a growing boy than completed toys. His curiosity as to the uses of things is related to his in- terest in the making of things. Doing and making are in- stinctively satisfying if they have personal meaning in pur- pose, process and result. They are playful and educative and preparatory to work. They constitute true learning. Walter Prichard Eaton^ in reminiscent mood, writes: "I was taught, thank God, to use a saw, a plane, a chisel, when I was but 8 years old, and at 10 I was able to build a 12-foot 'canvas canoe which really floated and carried me all over Birch Meadow in the flooded spring. Teach a boy really to make something with tools, to make it strong and right, and you have done more to make him happy, to develop him, than you can accomplish in any other way. Give him power to realize his own dreams, not try to supply him with the dreams you think he ought to have." The constructive in- Recreation 283 stinct appears in every boy. In some cases it is strong enough to persist under all circumstances, but in others, where it is not so strong, and where no encouragement is given the desire fades, and the boy henceforward may be of no use with his hands at making anything. The old craftsmanship has largely gone out of the home and into the factory, where it has been broken up into minute proc- esses performed by a machine-tender, whose monotonous repetition of his part of the whole process gives him but a remote relation to the finished product; but craftsmanship and the pride of craftsmanship have not entirely passed away, even in the factory, the joy of work well done is still possible, and any married woman will admit that there is something worth while in "a handy man around the house." Moreover, the cultivation of the constructive interest in childhood has mental and moral values of no little account. In child labor it is likely to find little expression ; expres- sion is better given to it in the home and the school, and through it play may be combined with children's work. But constructiveness means more than manual activity, more than making or doing thitigs with the hands. It has reference to accomplishment and the joy of accomplishment. When Veblen said that "man has a taste for efffective work and a distaste for futile eff:"ort" he was referring to the con- structive instinct or what he called the instinct of work- manship. The sense of efficiency and effectiveness gives work something of a play interest and play satisfaction; that is, an attitude toward work that compensates for its menial and grinding features. This attitude should be the possession of every worker — farmer and business man, mechanic and teacher — but can be only if the work is well suited to his powers. Child labor stands in the way of play interest in adult work because it not only lessens vocational » efficiency but results in so many round pegs in square holes —vocational misfits. The child who plays much and well will be able to work much and well, It is sometimes believed that play unfits for work because it is taken to mean idleness or mere diver- sion. This view springs from the anthropomorphic concep- tion of childhood, according to which the child's mind is the 284 Child Welfare in Tennessee adult's mind in miniature. It is thought that the child should be able to see that difference between play and work which the conditions of adult life suggest — ^work is real, play is not real; work is serious, play is not serious; work is business, play is pleasure. Play is pleasurable to chil- dren, but not pleasure as such; it is the most serious busi- ness of life; it is tremendously real. Idleness in the case of children is the exact antithesis of play — it is the lack of play. It does not develop habits of idleness — ^habits of idleness are encouraged by its absence. It does not develop love of ease — it often involves and welcomes hardship. Play gives the pleasure of doing the unpleasant and the moral training of overcoming difficulties. It makes the most ex- acting demands upon patience, perseverance, concentration and skill. It develops, not the qualities of the loafer, the shirker or the quitter, but the qualities needed by the effi- cient, effective, successful worker. Play derives from the past — iplay itself from racial heredity, games largely from social heredity — 'but it looks to the future. It sums up and it anticipates. The child's body and mind are prepai'ed for it, and it prepares the child's body and mind for adulthood. Our discussion of benefits conferred by children's play leads to the following generalizations : 1. Play is better than work as a means of physical ex- ercise. 2. Play is better than work as a means of mental train- ing and hygiene. 3. Play is better than work as a means of moral train- ing and development. 4. Play is better than work as a means of preparation for adult work. 5. Play is better than work as a means of preparation for adult leisure. * Work may yield some of these values in some degree, work carefully chosen and appropriate in amount and kind ; then It is children's work, not child labor. Children's work does not interfere with childhood as play-time — ^that is one of its 'chief distinctions. Children's work and children's Recreation 285 play are both substitutes for child labor. In many com- munities parents actually treat child labor as a substitute for children's work and children's play. Are they unaware that substitutes for child labor are available in such defi- nite and specific forms as home chores and household tasks, boys' and girls' agricultural clubs, manual training and vo- cational courses, continuation schools, boy and girl scouts and similar organizations, public playgrounds, evening so- cial centers, and so on? These are available to parents as substitutes for child labor, but they are not yet universally available to children as substitutes for child labor. To make them available to the children of Tennessee is the task of the home, the school, the church, the community, and the state. II. SCHOOL AND MUNICIPAL PLAYGROUNDS. The outstanding fact about the play and playground situation in Tennessee is this : the people generally do not appreciate the individual and social values of play, to say nothing of the virtues of direction and supervision. It is a failure in which Tennessee does not stand alone, and yet, when the rapid and far-spread progress of the play-and- playground movement in the country at large is considered, the state is very much behind the times. Even among school superintendents and teachers, who might be sup- posed to be cognizant of the physiology and psychology of children and to possess enlightened ideas as to the needs of child nature and the conditions of child development, the same attitude of indifference and sometimes of virtual op- position is not seldom found". It amounts, in the case of such actual or potential leaders of public sentiment, to either culpable ignorance or culpable neglect of duty. Of course, in the face of this general attitude toward children's play and the provision of play-places under supervision — though it can hardly be called an attitude at alfon the part of many who apparently have never heard or thought about the matter, beyond noticing that children like to play and do play — ^the presentation of statistics showing the absence of play facilities and play direction, of supervised school 286 Child Welfare in Tennessee and municipal playgrounds, is almost superfluous. Every- one knows that these things do not exist except in a com- paratively few scattered communities. The fact that whole counties and large cities are without playgrounds condQcted under either public or private auspices is not likely to shock public opinion in these counties or cities. The lack is the natural and inevitable consequence of public opinion as it stands. What is needed is to change public opinion. What is needed is to educate the people in the importance of play- and-playground work for children. What is needed is a campaign of propaganda. Make the people want this work done and they will do it. They will pay for it. Eventually it pays for itself. It pays dividends to the community and the state. It is an a§set and aid to the school and the church and a contribution to social welfare in general. There are signs of promise in the present situation. The state department of education is alive to the imj)ortance of recreational work of broad scope in connection with the schools, and if provided with sufficient staff, funds and authority would speedily accomplish a great change in the school situation. The Parent-Teacher Association of Ten- nessee is interested and is promoting the play and recreation idea. School superintendents and teachers, here and there, are doing splendid things. The county schools of Shelby County, under their able superintendent, are alive on the playground and serve as centers of social and recreational life for not only children, but adults. The American Red Cross has a recreational program and is helping local agen- cies in Madison County — to cite a conspicuous example of interest and activity — to enrich the recreational life of the people, young and old. The county agricultural agents, with their community clubs and boys' and girls' clubs, are helping in the same direction. Social settlements in the cities and in the mountains are partakers in the good work. Mention must be made of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, and the Camp Fire Girls and a share of credit be given each of these organizations. Spe- cial mention is due the Recreation Commission of Memphis. Recreation 287 Nashville has public supervised playgrounds under the park board. But the recreational work of all these agen- cies and organizations, collectively, affects as yet only a small proportion of the boys and girls of Tennessee.- One of the encouraging features of the situation is the fact that every equipped, supervised playground is a dem- onstration of its value. Demonstration is the best sort of propaganda and sets a contagious example. Every munici- pal playground that reduces the hoodlumism, delinquency, window-breaking and stealing in the community, every school playground that brings up school attendance and as- sists in solving the problem of school discipline is an argu- ment for more playgrounds. Testimony of social workers, juvenile court judges and school teachers shows that play- grounds accomplish these very results in Tennessee. On the other hand, unsupervised playgrounds, though equipped, are a hindrance rather than a help to the progress of the playground movement. It commonly happens — and has happened in Tennessee — ^that when playgrounds are pro- vided and left unsupervised they become overrun by gangs of roughs, the apparatus is abused, the smaller children are mistreated or forced out, and the playground idea is given a black eye. There is leadership on such a playground, but the wrong kind of leadership. It may become a veritable seed-bed of vice and immorality. The argument that the unsupervised playground affords is not an argument against playgrounds but an argument for supervised playgrounds. We must be careful, however, not to look upon the playground as merely or chiefly a preventorium of delinquency; it is a school of play, an educational insti- tution. Visits to scores of schools in Tennessee and data other- wise obtained showed the writer that in neither city nor country are the school playgrounds adequate in size. The exceptions are rare. In the cities the buildings were origin- ally erected on small plots and now there is no available playground space in the vicinity. One superintendent with whom the writer talked was sanguine enough to remark: "There is plenty of room for the pupils to march around the building for exercise, and the boys can play leap-frog." 288 Child Welfare in Tennessee Memphis is making adequate playground space a require- ment in the case of new buildings and in Chattanooga the new high school building will stand on a site of eight acres, with playgrounds and a play-field. In the country most of the schoolhouses were erected without consideration of playgrojmd space. Any piece of ground would do, provided it was i;ood for nothing else but a schoolhouse. In many instances the grounds are of considerable size, but oftener than not are too rough and rocky and too broken up with trees or stumps to serve for play purposes, except individ- ualistic games like tag and hide-and-seek, which are well enough for small children but possess little value for the older boys and girls. Open, level space about the buildings is small or entirely lacking. The state department of edu- cation is requiring that new buildings erected with state aid shall have at least two acres of ground. Thus it is that the consolidated schools are provided with sizeable play- grounds. How large should a school playground be? In England the educational authorities set a minimum requirement of thirty square feet per child. In this country expert opinion inclines toward a minimum of 100 square feet. But the question of minimum size is bound up with the question of maximum use. The Playground and Recreation Associa- tion of America has the following to say, and this has an application to municipal as well as school playgrounds: "The only solution for a minimum playground is its maximum use, by having the ground used each hour by different groups and by putting the emphasis on games re-, quiring little space. One acre used six times a day is equal to six acres used once. If there are as many as 600 chil- dren it will not be possible for a playground to be much smaller than an acre. Many authorities feel that there ought not to be more than 300 children using a playground of an acre. An acre is the minimum size for a school play- ground, according to Dr. Curtis' estimate. For more than 500 children, about 40 square feet per child should be add- ed to an acre playground. To give the child the ideal ex- pression and opportunity it would be necessary to have for Recreation 289 baseball, football, hockey and skating, four acres ; for tennis, two acres ; for indoor baseball, one acre ; for basketball, one- fourth acre; for volley ball, one-half acre; for running track, jumping pits, and similar apparatus, one-fourth acre. This makes eight acres of playground for a thou- sand pupils, but all these activitiesi could be carried on in five acres 'by playing less football and tennis." Dr. 'Curtis, in his outline of a playground law, would have "no city or town school built on less than one block of ground, or on less than three acres unless a block shall have approximately this, area, nor any, high school on less than two blocks or six acres of ground, nor any rural school on less than three acres." In going about among the rural schools it was found that, irrespective of the adequacy of play space, there were some schools where the children played busily and zestfully at recess periods and others where they did not play at all but hung around unable to think of anything to do. Per- haps the boys scuffled with one another, while the girls strolled about in pairs or small groups. This loafing at recess time generally indicated a dead school on the inside of the building. In many cases it could be traced to loss of play traditions and habits in the community. The play- less school offers a splendid opportunity to the rural teach- er, but unfortunately it is an opportunity very generally neglected or unrealized. Inquiry among county superin- tendents indicated that not more than 20 per cent and in many counties not more than 5 or 10 per cent of the rural teachers are capable of teaching games and organizing and directing play. Perhaps a still smaller percentage actually do teach games and direct play. Many teachers apparently are not aware either of the value of play to country chil- dren or of the value of the playground to the school life. One teacher said that she did not believe farm children ought to play at school as they had so much work to do at home. A teacher so densely ignorant as that ought not to have a certificate. Of course, thie quality of teachers is not always what it ought to be, though it is probably as good as can be expected in view of the scandalously low salaries paid. Much can be done to liven the playground and the 290 Child Welfare in Tennessee school through paying more attention to play and recrea- tion in teacher-training courses. The normal schools do not pay enough attention to this phase of preparation. Every normal graduate going into the country schools to teach should possess not merely a theoretical knowledge of the educational and sociological function and importance of play but a large repertoire of games for rural schools and rural communites and a training in playground technique. At summer schools and teachers' meetings these matters should have more attention. The state department of edu- cation might follow the example of similar departments in other, states and put into the hands of every rural school teacher a handbook of games containing suggestions as to how to make practical and effective use of it. The teacher makes the playground. The size and equipment of the playground are insignificant in comi>arison with leadership and direction. It was found in Tennessee that in those schools where the children really played and played well there was a teacher who got out amongst them at least occasionally, taught them games and stimulated them to utilize the stock of games which the children of every com- munity find they possess when they are encouraged to pool their own resources. It is a fact worth noting that while children play instinctively, they have to learn how to play ; play is unlearned activity, but' games are learned activity and the playground calls for games. In connection with a school survey of four representa- tive counties data were obtained relating to size of play- grounds, equipment, supervision, etc., in rural schools. These counties were Hamilton, Maury, Monroe and Smith. In Smith County data for 35 white and 4 colored schools showed an average playground of three-fourths of an acre for white schools and one-half an acre for colored schools. Ten white schools and three colored schools had playgrounds of less than a quarter of an acre. Thirty-two white and four colored schools had no playground equipment of any kind. Four white schools had basketball standards. One other school had apparatus. The number of schools where the teacher supervised play wa^: White, 20 ; colored, 4. The Recreation 291 number of schoolhouses never used for sociable or enter- tainment purposes for either young or old was : white, 25 ; colored, 1. Seventeen social affairs — entertainments, fairs, suppers, etc. — were held during the year in ten white schools ; three in three colored schools. The figures for size of playground and supervision by teachers need to be quali- fied. In the collection 6f data, the playground was not uni- formly taken to mean free, open, level space, nor was super- vision invariably taken to mean real supervision. The play- ground was often regarded as co-extensive with the entire area of the school ground, which might be largely forested or hilly or rough and rocky. As to supervision, the asser- tion of the teacher that he or she supervised the play of the children was generally accepted. The supervision might be of the police kind — seeing that the children did not hurt themselves or become too riotous; or it might mean, not nominal supervision, but supervision that taught games and organized and directed play. Personal observation and in- quiry by the writer at 117 rural schools in Tennessee indi- cated that the supervision in 101 cases was merely nominal. In the three counties of Hamilton, Maury and Monroe, only 34 rusal school playgrounds were reported as "level," 103 be- ing reported as "rough," ",hilly," "reugh ad hilly," "sloping," or "not level." Even, if "level," they might be rough and rocky— not smooth enough for a good playground. Sixty were reported as without equipment, out of 90 for which reports were received. The apparatus in twenty cases con- sisted only of basketball standards, and in only two or three cases was the apparatus considerable in amount. Appara- tus is not, however, of much account unless Well chosen and adapted to use by children of both sexes and various ages. Moreover, it is better to have supervision and no apparatus, than to have much apparatus and no supervision. Most of the school yards were reported as supervised, but qualifica- tions were frequently added, such as "slightly," "some- times," "casually," "nominal." Twenty-one qut of 91 school houses were reported as used at least occasionally for sociable and entertainment purposes. One, a suburban school in Hamilton County, was described as constantly in 292 Child Welfare in Tennessee use in various ways. The general fact about the school plant in Tennessee is that it is very inadequately used in vie\y of its social, recreational and community possibilities. Praiseworthy developments in respect of recreation and the school — and reference here is not confined to the activi- ties of the playground or to those of children — are in prog- ress in Tennessee. Knoxville has ian' interscholastic field meet, 'Chattanooga an annual play festival. Memphis has motion picture entertainments in the schools. The boys of the Maury County High School have a brass band. In Williamson County nearly every school has playground equipment and supervised play. County school meets, in- cluding entertainment programs and play contests, are held in some counties. The schools of Shelby County are meet- ing places for entertainment and social intercourse, whereas in most counties the schools are seldom if ever used for such purposes. Clarksville has a play director for the elementary grades. This list of developments and accomplishments is incomplete and is intended only to be suggestive as to what is going on. Invidious comparison with localities not men- tioned is not implied. None of the four large cities of Tennessee has an ade- quate system of municipal playgrounds, but each has a number of them. In Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville they are under park boards; in Memphis, under a citv recreation commission. It is true of all these cities that the number, area and distribution of the playgrounds fall far short of the needs of the boys and girls of school age, to say nothing of older persons and very young children. If the provision for white children is inadequate, that for negro children is many times more so. This inefficiency for both white and negro children holds even if we count in the equipped school yards. The distribution of the play- grounds leaves large areas without facilities. The play- grounds in Knoxville and Chattanoos:a are not supervised — except by policemen and caretakers, and theirs is not real supervision. Yet supervision is the most important part of playground service. Neither of these cities has summer supervised play under any auspices. In Nashville the Board of Park Commissioners operates Recreation 293 during the summer months 16 playgrounds, 15 of them in the city parks. This includes two playgrounds' for colored children. Two playgrounds for whites^ and one for negroes are operated the year around. The children in some sec- tions of the city live four miles from the nearest playground. In summer there are 15 white supervisors and two colored, but few members of the staff are either trained or experi- enced in playground work. They are very poorly paid and the schedule of hours required of them, though amounting to only seven on actual duty, actually takes eleven hours of their time. During one operating season the board em- ployed a general supervisor. This practice should be con- tinued, or rather, a superintendent of recreation, with this or a similar title, should be employed on full time the year around to take hold of the recreation problem in Nashville and to administer the system of general recreation for all the people of the community that should be developed with his help and put into operation. The park board, besides administering playgrounds and lending apparatus to chai- itable institutions and to the schools that have grounds large enough, appropriates money for music and motion pictures in the parks and for other purposes of like nature. A noteworthy feature of the playground work is the annual play and field meet, in which the children of the different playground centers compete in games, athletics and otlier contests. This is not a complete description of the recrea- tional work conducted or aided by the park board, which has three all-year white workers and one all-year negro worker. It can not be said, however, that the playground activities in Nashville, to say nothing of recreation in its wider, more comprehensive aspects, have yet been developed to the point where there is certain promise of great further development in the immediate future. The park board is the only agency doing recreational work on a large scale and there is no agency in the city attempting to organize public sentiment in behalf of the play and recreational movement. Memphis has a broadly conceived recreational policy and program. This policy and program is largely the product of, and is in the keeping of, the Memphis Recreation Com- 294 Child Welfare in Tennessee mission, appointed by the Mayor and consisting of the librarian of the Ctossitt Library, the chairman of the park commission, the superintendent of the public schools, and several other citizens. The activities promoted or conduct- ed by the commission are numerous and varied and cover the entire year. They include supervised play during sum- mer on eleven playgrounds, nine for white children and three for negroes, and in winter on five playgrounds. Inter- school and inter-factory athletic leagues are under the direc- tion of the commission, as are community center activities in a number of localities. Several of the community cen- ters are in the schools. One center, located in the business district of the city, is known as the Memphis Community Center. Eleven social and recreational centers besides playgrounds are conducted, all of these in the winter and five throughout the year. Eleven all-year white workers are employed and five all-year negro workers. The promo- tion of band concerts in the city parks during the summer is one of the enterprises which the Houck Music Founda- tion has undertaken. The members of the commission are unpaid, but give prodigally of their thought and time. As a group they possess in marked degree enthusiasm and energy and vision. They are handicapped in their work by lack of sufficient money from the municipality, but they evidently manage well with what they have. They have not met the recreational needs of Memphis as yet, but are mak- ing good headway. In spite of the intelligence and devo- tion of the members of the commission, the recreation sys- tem needs the services of a trained and experienced director or suprintendent. This is one respect in which it still fails to measure up to the standards of an all-year municipal recreation system. All the larger cities of Tennessee should develop such a system and the experience and example of Memphis sug- gest the desirability of putting the recreational work into the hands of a recreation board or commission. Some of the advantages of a recreation board over other city depart- ments as managing authority in recreation have been stated Recreation 295 as follows:* 1. A recreation board is a co-ordinating body through which all groups, whose property must be used in the operation of an economical recreation system, may function. Through a recreation board all the resources of all the departments of the city may be utilized — not simply the resources of one department. The appointment on the board of representatives of school and park boards provides the machinery for such co-operation. 2. Boards appoint- ed for other purposes are usually already loaded with work and find it difficult to give recreation interests adequate at- tention. 3. The members of the recreation board are selected with the thought of recreation in mind; other boards are selected primarily for other purposes. 4. School boards have large appropriations but items in their budgets are often insufficient and when this is the case the item for recreation is likely to be reduced. 5. It is easier to secure an adequate appropriation for recreation in the beginning if the question of an appropriation for playgrounds is not confused by being combined with that of a large appropria- tion for boulevards or for industrial education. 6. A sep- arate recreation commission, appointed for the sole pur- poes of studying recreation needs and meeting these needs, can more readily be held responsible. 7. The recreation interests are likely to be kept more permanently before the community if a separate board with an efficient superin- tendent of recreation is at work. 8. The problems of recreation in a city are so large and varied as to require the individual attention of the strongest possible municipal board, needing all the time the members of an unpaid board can give. The superintendent of recreation in a city needs the hearty support of such a group of public-spirited citi- zens', able to give careful attention to all the intricate and vital problems involved in a comprehensive municipal recreation system. 9. By the creation of a recreation board it is usually possible to make official the services of important citizens who have been at the center of the move- ment in its initial stage. Playgrounds and recreation cen- * See "Community Recreation," booklet published by Playground and Recreation Association of America. 296 Child Welfare in Tennessee ters placed under city departments already organized frequently lose the services of their most able advocates. In course of time, Tennessee and all the other states of the Union will have a state recreation commission or de- partment. The subject of recreation is too wide in scope and too distinct from other subjects to be treated adminis- tratively as subordinate or incidental to either health or education. It means so much more than physical training or bodily health, than instructidn or mental discipline, that it deserves a place of its own in the law and administration of a state. It is a matter of physical, mental and moral health, of imagination and aesthetics and the art of living, of self-realization and the expression of ideals, of the joy- ous and profitable use of leisure time. "Recreation is more than of the body or the intellect ; it is a means of emotional and spiritual cultivation, a thing of the spirit. No state can afford to neglect the things of the spirit. III. COMMERCIAL AMUSEMENTS. Commercial amusements are supplied in response to demand. They represent the play-and-recreation hunger of the people capitalized and commercialized. Millions of dollars have been invested in commercial amusements — private capital that looks for returns in money. The amount is many times what the public has invested in public recrea- tion — parks, playgrounds, social centers — ^though the divi- dends of this form of expenditure are enormous. It is prin- cipally the commercial element in commercial amusements that renders them sometimes vicious and always a proper object of social surveillance. True, some of the best enter- tainment — ^the best of legitimate drama, for instance — is provided under commercial auspices. True, the moving pic- tures are not of necessity evil or harmful by reason of the fact that they are shown for money. But no form of recrea- tion or amusement can safely be left to unrestrained, un- regulated commercialism. Commercial amusements are considered in this respect because a large part of their patronage in Tennessee, as elsewhere, comes from children, and because attendance at commercial-amusement places Recreation 297 constitutes a large part of the recreational life of many Tennessee children. Moving picture theaters, dance halls, pool rooms and street carnivals furnish many children and young people the most available and attractive opportunities of having a good time. Moving pictures lead in the patronage of children and young people. Proprietors of theatres told the writer that from 20 to 50 per cent of the attendance is that of children. Sometimes the proportion was even larger — usually on Sat- urday afternoons or evenings, or on occasions when "se- rials" were shown, or pictures featuring the dare-devil idols of juvenile fandom. In the four larger cities the theatres are fairly good from the standpoint of construction, fire protection, lighting, ventilation, etc., although in five in- stances the writer found the lighting insufficient and in seven instances the ventilation very bad. Out of a total of seventy-eight theatres visited in Tennessee, there were twenty without any exits except at the front (the entrance door or one beside it across from the ticket booth) and nine in which the exits were either unmarked or obstructed. Many were without ventilators or fans. On the occasion of ninety-one visits at different hours of the day the air was found extremely bad sixteen different times and passably good forty-seven times. The worst conditions from the standpoint of health and sanitation were found in the small towns, where for instance a store in an old building had been transformed into a theatre or municipal requirements are few or poorly enforced. Heat is sometimes provided by an un- jacketed stove in a room with closed windows or with win- dows causing drafts. It is in the small towns, too, that standing in the aisles is more likely to be observed than in the larger cities, though aisles obstructed in this way were noted in Nashville and Knoxville, in spite of fire regula- tions to the contrary. As the conditions of health and physical safety in moving-picture houses are quite as im- portant as the character of the pictures shown, municipal ordinances should provide that stiff requirements as to the construction of building, location and width of entrances, exits, stairs, aisles and fire-escapes, signs over fire-escapes, heating and lighting arrangements, ventilating devices, and 298 Child Welfare in Tennessee location and construction of booth enclosing the moving- picture machine, be met Tsefore a license for the premises is issued, whether the building be new or old. The safety and health of the people is the same imperative concern under all circumstances. We do not mean that moral values are less than health values, but that the actual menace in Tennessee picture theatres is as truly a menace to health as it is to morals. The menace to morals could be easily exaggerated, but it cannot be overlooked. It was the unanimous testimony of juvenile court judges and probation officers with whom the writer talked that the majority of delinquent boys are movie fiends. Sometimes a casual connection between the movies and the delinquency is traceable. Not least unfor- tunate for children, partly because of their extreme popu- larity, are the dime novels, the shilling shockers, of the screen. These include the "serials" — ^riotous melodrama! Thrill upon thrill, and the crowd of boys in the front seats become overwrought with excitement, uttering hysterical cries. And next day it is all they can think about; next week, or sooner, they come back for more. These emotional orgies, with their aftermath of wandering wits and a crav- ing for excitement, like a drunkard's craving for liquor, debauch the mental life of childhood. Children in this con- dition cannot apply themselves in school and are intract- able at home. Teachers and mothers in Tennessee, as the writer knows from their own testimony, ascribe many of their trials and tribulations to the picture shows. Out of nearly a hundred movie programs witnessed by the writer in Tennessee, half contained one or more of these concoc- tions of thrills and sensations, and there were always chil- dren among the spectators. The writer attended a theatre one rainy evening when prizes had been advertised to be given to all children at the door. The children came in a horde in spite of the weather, They received their prize- puzzles and then saw a program which consisted of a sex- problem play and a riotously melodramatic "episode" of a "serial." The sex problem play might have been all right for adults and might not; it was certainly over the heads Recreation 299 of the youngsters and could not but have proved unwbole- soinely suggestive. The "episode" was misnamed, as all serial episodes are, having no unity of their own, but con- sisting entirely of a succession of thrills each more thrilling than the others. Of actual salaciousness on the screen the writer saw but little in viewing 200 or more films, but saw much that was subversive of high ideals of sex relationship and family life, especially in. the minds of children, highly immature in their thinking and highly suggestible in their mental reactions. Censorships of moving pictures and theatrical perform- ances have been established in Nashville and Memphis. In both cities there are boards appointed by the Mayor, the members serving without compensation, except that the secretary of the Memphis board receives nominal compensa- tion. The general method of operation is the same in both cities. Pictures are not viewed before they are shown in the theatres except in special cases — a request from the theatre proprietor or a desire on the part of the board to see a picture which has been booked or advertised and which they have reason to think may be of doubtful character. The board is affiliated with the National Board of Review, receives their bulletins, and uses their code of standards in judging pictures. The policy is one of friendly co-operation with the exhibitors and has worked out fairly well in prac- tice. Occasionally the board has encountered opposition, but its requests have usually been complied with without resort to legal procedure. Pictures containing objection- able scenes sometimes get by in spite of all the precautions taken. The members of the board cannot visit all the thea- tres all the time, and many pictures' are shown for one day only. Dependence is placed largely on advance information from. the National Board, advance bookings of the exhibi- tions, the policy of co-operation, and the club which the local board possesses in the way of legal authority. Viola- tions of the orders of the board are invariably punished — which is usually by fine or suspension of license. It may be said 'that the local board exerts a highly salutary influence over the character of the picture show's, but its censorship is 300 Child Welfare in Tennessee not of the kind that solves the problem of suitable pictures or programs for children to see. Members of both the Nashville and the Memphis boards acknowledged this, and suggested that a large part of the responsibility belongs to parents. This is undoubtedly true. It is true also that no censorship yet devised, whether that of the National Board of Review, which has no legal authority to bar pictures but merely gives pictures its stamp of approval or of state and municipal boards with full legal authority to condemn and reject, has in practice prevented the showing of pictures which, though perhaps suitable for grown-ups, are unde- niably unsuitable for children. The following report made to the Memphis City Club by its Committee on Education and adopted by the club, is self-explanatory and suggestive: "Subject: A municipal picture show for Memphis, a place where moving pictures based upon our educational needs can be seen at a nominal cost. This committee has considered this proposition from variousi angles. It realizes the educational value of moving pictures, and the popular interest in this form of exhibi- tion; it fully realizes also that many of the pictures that children now see are destructive rather than constructive, and sees clearly that the proposition of a municipal Picture Show for the city could be made a splendid realitj- when the municipal auditorium is completed. At the present time it does not seem feasible. "The committee is informed that there are thousands of educational films covering all subjects which our citizens have had little if any opportunity to see. A limited number of films of this character have been exhibited by the City Recreation Commission in the past several years. These were exhibited in the community centers in the public school buildings of the city. The committee is further ad- vised that the Mayor of the city is greatly interested in the city's social welfare, and that the Recreation Commission is to be enlarged both in personnel and in its activities, and it is the opinion of this committee that for the present the Recreation Commission is the best equipped branch of the city to handle this subject, and the committee offers this resolution for action by the Club: Recreation 301 "Resolved: The City Club requests the Recreation Commission to greatly enlarge its program of presenting educational films in the community centers, and the City Club pledges its support and co-operation in this under- taking." No ordinance restrictive of the attendance of children at moving picture shows was found in Tennessee, thpugh several cities and tovsms have curfew ordinances — poorly en- forced or dead letters. Children go to the commercial movies without restriction from parents or the community as to hours, guardianship, or the character of the pictures they shall see. As an offset to the attractiveness and influ- ence of the commercial movies, and as a means of making the motion pictures a positive force in the life of the child, the Recreation Commission of Nashville, the Civic League of the Chattanooga Junior High School, social settlements and variousi other civic and philanthropic institutions and organizations are providing picture shows especially suit- able for children, or we might say in some cases, "entirely" rather than "especially" suitable for children. Institutions and organizations interested in doing this kind of work will find aid from the National Committee for Better Films (affiliated with the National Board of Review) , which pre- pares and publishes lists of pictures suitable for different kinds of spectators — pictures for children under 12, for children 12 to 16, and for the family group. It also pub- lishes descriptions sufficiently complete to perniit the preparation of programs for special occasions, as a patriotic holiday or a religious meeting. The National Motion Pic- ture Bureau of New York, with branches in other cities, is an exchange recently organized to select or help select programs for schools, churches, clubs, etc., and to furnish the pictures. Other serviceable agencies are the National Motion Picture League, the -International Church Film' Cor- poration, the Bureau of Pictures of the American Red Cross, the Carter Cinema Co., the Division of Education of the Universal Film Mfg. Co., and the Society for Visual Education. Public dance halls are few in Tennessee— only eight in 302 Child Welfare in Tennessee the four large cities and very few elsewhere. None, accord- ing to information received, is in daily operation during any considerable portion of the year, most of them being used once or twice a week. Of course, public dances are also held in hotels, on excursion boats, and in public and amusement parks. Regulation of dances and dance halls is little so far as municipal ordinances or state laws are con- cerned. Except in Memphis and Chattanooga the municipal ordinances have nothing specific to say on the subject. These cities lay down certain rules and regulations ag to ages of those attending, accompaniment by parents or guardian, closing hours, and other details. Licenses are revocable for violation of any of the rules and regulations and police inspection and supervision is authorized. A difficulty in both cities is the inadequacy of the official in- specting and supervising force. Civic organizations could aid in .providing supervisors and chaperons until the lack of an adequate force has been overcome. The police depart- ments of" both Memphis and Chattanooga have women on their staff in charge of sub-departments, but other duties subtract from the time available for looking after the dances and dance halls. The personnel of these sub-departments should be increased and additional appropriations made. In most cities and tov^ms the only inspection and supervision is that of a policeman who drops in occasionally — once in an evening or once in a week — to look on or see that order is being maintained. Children under 16, unaccompanied by parent or guardian, were frequently seen by the writer at public dances in Tennessee. The character of the dancing sometimes verged on the lewd. To control the character of the dancing is a difficult problem since the music played is often such that slow, suggestive movements are com- pelled. Jazz has much to answer for in the dance hall, though it seems to enjoy considerable respectability. Many of the dances with the zoological names are a libel on animals that never did indulge in such antics and never would and that are entirely free from the sex behavior involved in thepe dances. But dancing is not only one of the oldest of human pastimes, it is, properly practiced and con- Recreation 303 ducted, one of the most healthful and wholesome forms of exercise and mental recreatioh. It should not be excluded from the lives of people. The commercial dance hall, prob- ably, can never be made a really suitable place for dancing. The best places are the homes, the school the grahge, the playground, the social settlement, the community center and, some say, the chut-ch. These institutions can set good examples in dance fashions, train young people in enjoy- ment of good dancing, and if they will but take dancing unto themselves determine the future of dancing as a pleas- ant and profitable exercise and pastime, and restore it to its proper place as art and a vehicle of social life. It should not be left to commercialism, not even regulated commer- cialism; it is too valuable not to be utilized and developed, with positive purpose, as a means of self-expression and social progress. By all odds the worst of commercial amusements to be found in Tenenssee is the travelling street carnival. This is usually made up largely of gambling stalls and dancing features. There is pretty sure to be a merry-go-round and a number of freak sideshows. The gambling devices and the dancing girls are the chief and most conspicuous ele- ments of the average carnival. How the carnival managers and the concessionaires get by with the games of chance is a mystery to the writer, who believes that existing state laws, if invoked and enforced, would put an end to many of the gambling stalls. It is true that the concessionaires sometimes give consolation prizes to the "squealers" as a sop to legality, but the practice is not common. The prize may be a cheap picture card. Most of the patrons lose money. Ceveat emptor, perhaps, even in taking chances, but the moral influence of the carnival from the gambling standpoint alone should arouse the peoiple of Tennessee to action. A carnival stays in town about a week and then moves on, so that arousal of public sentiment or of official action usually comes too late to affect that particular car- nival. Then, too, and we refer to the dancing and other en- tertainment features as well as the gambUng devices, a carnival may be on its good behavior in one town and not 304 Child Welfare in Tennessee in the next. It may be good until Saturday night and then "go the limit. In a dancing sideshow the performers may keep within bounds while a policeman is in sight and over- step all decency when the officer has withdrawn. Another way in which the carnivals manage to evade the law and moral decency is to make contracts with local clubs or so- cieties for the week, the whole affair being held "under the auspices" of such and such an organization which gives it the protection of respectability and of local influence. Pro- ceeds are divided. The local organization procures the license and may be able to do so even after the city council or the police chief has declared that no carnival will ever be allowed in the town again. It may happen that the local organization is not aware of the general character, of car- ■ nivals, or that the particular carnival it endorses has of- fered the highest testimonials of approval and praise from "press, pulpit and public," or that its sense of responsibility in the matter is dulled by the profitableness of the scheme. A carnival is seldom profitable to the town. It takes a great (ieal of money away from the town and much from people who can ill afford to lose it. Chiefs of police departments describe the average carnival as "damnable." The carnival draws a crowd of roughs and bootleggers ; shooting scrapes are frequent; immoral women accompanying the carnival or drawn to the grounds leave a trail of venereal disease behind them. So numerous are the victims of venereal dis- ease that in some towns industry may be seriously crippled for several days after the visit of a carnival. Ten boys in one small town contracted disease at a carnival that showed there for a week. Not a few carnivals are veritable travel- ling bawdy houses. Boys and men are solicited in side- shows to which only they are admitted. In these sideshows the women, with sometimes not enough clothes on them to make a pair of leggings for a humming bird, perform dances unspeakably vile. With some carnivals there is a public dance tent — only men and boys are admitted, however — their dancing partners being on the wait for them inside. The worst features that the writer has seen at street carnivals are not connected with all of them, but as a class they are worthy only of the strongest words of condemna- Recreation 305 tion. Worthy of more than that — worthy of such action of public sentiment as shall put them effectually out of business in the state of Tennessee. From California to Maine they are rousing public sentiment against themselves. Chatta- nooga has recently passed an ordinance foi^bidding them to show in that city, but nothing (prevents their showing out- side the city limits. The only effective legislation will be state legislation, and the legislature of Tennessee ought to pass a law definitely aimed at removing the carnival menace and evil from the borders of the commonwealth. This need not really destroy carnivals, or travelling street carnivals; it should be aimed at eliminating the dancing and gambling and other immoral features characteristic of the average carnival at present. If the carnival were as clean and wholesome as the average circus it would be permissible. Municipal legislation dealing with commercial amuse- ments on the moral side are very nearly non-existent in Tennessee. The large cities all have very good fire and building regulations, and their statute books have some- thing general to say about disorderly conduct in places of public amusement and about lewdness and immorality in the form of amusement. But municipal legislation on the subject shows that here is one subject to which no city government in Tennessee has given comprehensive and careful thought. It is a matter principally for municipal legislation, rather than state. Essential to control of commercial amusement through local government are: (1) Definite standards, fixed by ordinance or statute, or by executive order if not otherwise established, and covering matters of safety, health, morality, opening and closing hours, the ages of those attending and the hours of chil- dren's attendance; (2) an officer or staff of officers especial- ly assigned to the enforcement of laws, ordinances and reg- ulations with regard to commercial amusements,' and re- sponsible for systematic and frequent inspection of amuse- ment places; (3) a licensing policy that aims not at reve- nue only, but also at control, licenses being revocable and not again issuable within six months or a year; (4) cen- tralization of authority and responsibility in all matters 306 Child Welfake IN Tennessee pertaining to commercial amusements, this authority and responsibility to be lodged in a licensing bureau, preferably under the mayor. A motion-picture ordinance should require a license for the premises used for entertainments, the license to be issued only after investigation and on terms making the license an instrument of control ; impose standards and pre- scribe rules as to safety, sanitation and illumination of the theater, provide definitely for some sort of censorship or method of control of the pictures, and prohibit the attend- ance of children during school hours and after a certain hour in the evening. In framing municipal legislation with regard to dance halls, a license for the premises should be exacted and, in the case of occasional balls or dances in a public place, a permit required. Neither should be issuable without previous investigation. The ordinance should prohibit the granting of return checks, forbid the admission of persons under 18 after 9 o'clock unless accompanied by parent or guardian, establish a reasonable closing hour, and set up adequate machinery of inspection and supervision. Im- moral dancing and moonlight numbers should be forbidden. Municipal legislation on commercial amusements should include an ordinance dealing with pool rooms and bowling alleys. As in the case of dance halls and picture theaters, a license should be exacted for the premises rather than the operator of the amusement, the license should be revo- cable, proper regulations as to ventilation and sanitation should be prescribed, and the admission of persons under a specified age should be forbidden. There are two attitudes of approach to the problem of commercial amusements. In one view, no good whatever exists in commercial amusements or in the amusement forms which have lent themselves to commercialization; but in another view, these amusement forms are worth pre- serving and cultivating, while commercial amusements as such are deemed susceptible of control. One view leads to a policy of suppression and extermination ; the other, to Recreation 307 a policy of encouragement, development, regulation and socialization. A policy- of socialization implies belief that commercial amusements, if they are bad, can be converted (to speak in orthodox language) and can be enlisted in the service of God and man. If they are bad, then civic conscience and militant morality can fight them; and the voice of wisdom saith, "Fight theni with their own weapons, as well as with ordinances and statutes, to the end that the bad in them may be overcome by the good in them." There is scriptural authority for the attempt to overcome evil with good. Provision of good amusement and recreation, including forms that are commercialized, is an excellent way of combating bad commercialized amusement. A policy of socialization calls for a program that goes beyond mere legal restriction and puts private and public agencies active- ly into the business of un-commercial amusement and recre- ation. A municipal amusement plant or a community house, containing facilities for picture shows, dances, pool, billiards, bowling, and so on, suggests what may come of such a policy and program. Doubtless a licensed com- mercial institution, a center providing for the conduct of these amusements under municipal or community auspices and direction, could be made morally and civically useful. IV. RURAL RECREATION. The fact that four-fifths of the children of Tennessee live in communities classified as rural by the census em- phasizes the importance of rural recreation in a program of recreational advancement. In any program of rural ad- vancement recreation is important. By recreation we mean not only children's play, but the play of adults; and not only play in forms characterized conspicuously by physical activity, but play as amusement and enjoyable social inter- course. We must remember that it is the inind that plays, not the body. In the chapter on "Rural Life," in this volume, data showing recreational conditions in the agri- cultural districts of the state are presented. It is noted 308 Child Welfare in Tennessee there that the county agricultural and home demonstration agents have recognized the importance of the recreational side of country life, and are helping to develop that side. Abundant and wholesome recreation for children and adults in the country places brings people together, fosters ac- quaintance, increases the capacity for co-operation in civic and economic enterprises and is valuable both for its own sake and for its practical uses in the upbuilding of rural Tennessee, The general recreational situation with regard to rural adults is naturally the general situation with regard to children. It reflects the general attitude toward play and recreation and varies somewhat with different communi- ties. Adults without a developed play habit and play spirit do little to develop the recreational life of the community and take little interest in the recreational life of the chil- dren. Indeed, it may be said that the development of rural recreational life begins with the children — with their play life, and their acquirement of the play habit and the play spirit. But play facilities and the opportunity to play must be furnished by the parents as parents and as members of the community, and the play life encouraged by them. Tt is the lack of the spirit of play, with its enthusiasm, its abandonment of self, itsJ sanity and optimism, that is mak- ing boys and girls, and grown-ups as well, dissatisfied with the country. It is the lack of play itself — ^play in the broad sense. Roosevelt said truly that "Our civilization rests at bottom on the wholesomeness, the attractiveness, and the completeness, of life in the country." The hardness and seriousness of life on the farm is a problem for solution. Economic factors are involved in that solution, but the pro- motion of play and recreation is a part of it. This will help to change the attitude toward the farm — and the atti- tude toward play and recreation. The farmers of the past played and their children played. There used to be more play in the country than there is now. It has simply died out, with changed social and economic conditions. Not wholly died out, however. In many localities it lingers lustily. But some of the old customs and occasions that Recreation 309 brought people together— some have passed and others are passing, and substitutes have not yet taken their places. "WTiat is needed is a recreational renaissance, building on the old recreation, making adjustments to the new times, drawing always on rural resources and remaining true to the rural environment. Though more than eighty per cent of Tennessee's chil- dren are in rural communities — the village and the open country— it is the city child that has received the lion's share of attention in the matter of recreation. It is in the city that the play and recreation movement has taken the firmer hold. So there we have the playgrounds, school and municipal. In the open country of Tennessee commu- nity playgrounds provided for the children of a neighbor- hood are almost unheard of. The Boy Scout, Girl Scout and Camp-Fire Girl organizations, though their activities are as well adapted to the country as to the city, are found only in the towns and cities. A new organization, the Pio- neers, has a program of varied activities, partly recrea- tional, especially well suited for young boys where the size of the possible group is very small, but designated also for large groups. This organization should be welcomed in rural Tennessee by ministers and others interested in Christian citizenship. Among the differences between town and country in Tennessee is respect of facilities for recrea- tion is the lack in the country of such amusements as com- mercialism provides in the town. The movies have come to many of the small towns, and the carnivals, such as they are, come also from time to time. In from the country flock children and grown-ups to the commercial amusements of the towns and cities — these largely unregulated amuse- ments that provide a host of country people with their only means of having a good time. Proprietors of several picture houses with whom the writer talked estimated that half or more of their patrons came from the surrounding country. So the problem of regulation of commercial amusements is a rural as well as an urban problem — really a problem of the rurban community. There are whole counties in Tennessee with hardly eVer 310 Child Welfare in Tennessee a motion-picture show. But the movies, in moderation, are good as a factor in rural life. They are diversional, relaxa- tional, horizon-broadening ; they break monotony ; they take one out of oneself and thus are mentally hygienic ; they bring the fun and experience of the world to the country plac^. North Carolina recently adopted the policy of subsidizing community movies for the country. The legislature, a few years ago, directed the state superintendent of public in- struction to provide movie entertainments wherever the people wanted them. County circuits were worked out. A unit consisting of one picture outfit complete, photo-plays, an operator, and everything necessary for one year's service, was found to cost approximately $3,000. One-third of the expense was shouldered by the state and two-thirds was left to be borne by the county. So far the average cost of a single performance has been about $12. It is part of the State's plan that the pictures shall take about an hour and a half, and that a half hour shall then be given to holding a community meeting and discussing community problems. The type of man chosen for operator is one who can or- ganize community leagues in the different counties. The working out of the experiment will be watched with interest in other states. The rural school of Tennessee could do much more than it is doing for bringing into the country communities the spirit of play. In a preceding section of this report the absence of play, of adequate playgrounds and of intelligent supervision at many rural schools was noted and lamented. The "wider use of the school plant" for social and recrea- tional affairs — bringing the adults together or the whole community together, young and old — should be developed. What has been accomplished in this direction at the Caple- ville School in Shelby County and the Red Bank School in Hamilton County is briefly described in the chapter on "Schools" in this volume. The results were effected through community organization. The consolidated school is one solution of the problem of school playgrounds and the use' of the school plant as a social or community center. But th^ one-room rural school will continue in existence for Recreation 311 many years to come. Community organization and com- munity life should be built up around that, too. It was once, not so long ago, the center of community life in the country. The county school meets that are increasing in popu- larity in Tennessee could be further developed in such a way as to spread the play practice and gospel more effective- ly than they do now, or county play festivals for the young or for all ages of the population could be held. The story of what happened in Madison County, Mississippi, should ,'be interesting and suggestive to teachers and school officials in Tennessee. The Teachers' Association of the county ap- pointed committee to make arrangements for a special play program in the usual program of the annual county field day. A standard text, "Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium," by Jessie H. Bancroft, was adopted and distributed to 6ach school. Each teacher used her own judgment in the selection of games. On the day appointed each school was assigned a definite, staked-off area on the play field. At a signal from the leader each school began playing its own game. This was continued for a period of forty-five minutes with brief intervals when games were changed and play began again. Then at the end of the forty-five minute period, the first, second and third grades of all the schools assembled in the center of the field and played a game together. The rest of the day was taken up in regular field day events such as baseball, basket- ball, pole vaulting, running and jumping. Introducing a play period into the regular field day program was found to be valuable not only because it secured the active par- ticipation of every child, but it also demonstrated to the teachers the value of games, with the result that they will be used as a regular feature of school work in the future. The superintendent of the county schools pronounced the ex- periment a shining success and wrote: "Next year this will mean that there will be no pupils in this county wiho do not play. There will be at least a part of each day de- voted to play for the fun of it, and for the exercise that it gives." Children play in the country in many ways. Play- 312 Child Welfare in Tennessee grounds, apparatus and supervision do not comprise, and should not comprise, all the elements of children's recrea- tion, either in country or city. Professor Smith has graph- ically and understandingly described the great variety of the play activities of children and young people in a re- gion that includes Tennessee — its mountains of the eastern part and its lowlands westward. His article on "Recreation in the Southland," published in "The American Child" for May, 1920, will repay attentive reading — if read at all, it will be read attentively. He describes the hunting and fish- ing activities, "strolling around," swimming as recreation, dancing, dancing games, kissing games, "fiddlings," the songs and ballads, "bean-stringings," "apple-peelings," "quiltings," "workings," "barbecues" — a mixed list this is, of games that children play and affairs in which they take an interest or a part. He says — ^what the present writer also found to ,be the case — ^that the recreation of country children is almost entirely unsupervised and un- directed. Not all of it needs supervision or direction. The attitude of grown-ups toward the good times of the boys and girls. is a subject to which Professor Smith refei-s in these words : "Despite the indifference of many parents and the outspoken opposition of the majority of the min- isters, the young folks find opportunity to have a great deal of fun in the various ways at their disposal. Yet many complain of the dullness of their surroudings and not a few leave the country for the cities where recreation in abundance is to be found. If those who insist that this migration is due to the absence of the means of recrea- tion in the country should only look into the matter a little more carefully they would discover that it is not the lack of means but is the careless indifference of parents and the relentless opposition of the ministers to the kinds of play that exist that have the larger effect. One young woman expressed an attitude that is sometimes unseen: 'Every time we young folks do anything to have a merry time, somebody ups and tells us that we are committing a sin. I know we don't mean to do wrong ; we simply want to be happy.' " And again he writes : "The tendency" (of Recreation 313 parents and ministers) "is to attempt to regulate plays and games after the manner of the Decalog and without offering any substitutes whatever. The country preachers voice their disapproval in no uncertain terms, offering no alternative but church-going and prayer-meetings, thus hardening the hearts of the young folk and keeping them away from the church. One young man thus expressed his state of mind: 'I don't give a d whether I go to church or not. For ev'ry time I go the preacher raises h about what we young folks do to have a good time, and doesn't do a thing to offer us anything different. I don't want to go where I'm cussed out all the time for trying to be happy and trying to make others so.' " In developing rural recreation the play material native to the country should not be overlooked in favor of im- portations. Recreation should be indigenous so far as resources permit. It should be locality-expressive and locally self -relict. A community need not depend on com- mercial amusement or on outside professional talent to have plenty of musical and dramatic entertainment. It has • resources of its own. Among them is home talent. The songs and ballads of Tennessee are worthy recreational ma- terial. Tennessee is rich in history and tradition that lend themselves to local drama and pageantry and to anni- versary celebrations. Among recreational resources must be included the play material that consists in the stock of games known to the people of a given community. Pro- fessor Smith has collected descriptions of more than 300 games with which the young people of the Southern High- lands are acquainted. The present writer gathered a list of 116 games known to boys and girls in rural schools in Tennessee — and additions could have been made to this list. A striking feature was the small proportion of games in- volving real team or co-operative play. It is notable that at most schools the boys and girls actually play but a few of the games they know. At one school where the children played a great deal, "base" was the game they played day after day, week after week, boys and g'irls and small and large children together. 314 Child Welfare in Tennessee Trained leadership in the development of rural recrea- tion is needed. Few ministers are equipped for the task, and few teachers. They can help the movement forward. The county agricultural and home demonstration agents are doing it^-many of them. If the state department of education could employ a recreational supervisor to go about the state promoting the recreation idea, and aiding teachers and communities to develop recreational activities in connection with the schools, or if the state university could add to its staff an advisor in community reci'eation, good results would be certain. A very interesting experi- ment is now being worked out in North Carolina whereby the North Carolina Board of Public Welfare, the State University and jthe Southern Division of the Red Cross will combine to hold a training school for county welfare super- intendents, one of the courses of which will be devoted to the theory and practice of community recreation. If Ten- nessee should, as suggested elsewhere in Jhis volume, de- velop the Board of State Charities, with a system of county welfare superintendencies, such a training school might be held in this state, with a similar course in recreation. V. SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. The recre^ational problean — the problem of play and play-places for children, the problem of commercial amuse- ments, the problem of the invigoration and enrichment of social and recreational life for young and old — comes closest home to the local community. A community has many interests and may organize itself to serve them all. A community organization may embrace an entire city, may follow the "social unit" plan, may be on the rurban or town-and-country basis, may comprise a village population, or may be developed in the open country. In any case, a community! organization implies a community program, and a community program implies a recreational program. Often it is through recreational activities that organization of the community is engineered and accomplished, often through recreational activities that community conscious- Recreation 315 ness and spirit is aroused.* The organized community nat- urally seeks a home, a community house (it may be the schoolhouse or the grange hall) , a headquarters and hearth- stone, a meeting place not for business alone but for com- mon recreation and sociable intercourse. The community organization will have a committee on recreation. One of the first things for this committee to do will be to make a recreational survey, which may be part of a comprehensive social survey of the community. The recreation committee will proceed to formulate and carry out a long-term pro^ gram. It will not attempt, however, to supplant existing agencies in the recreational field, for these will be repre. sented in its membership and the program will be their own plan for concert of action and division of labor. Should a community as a whole fail to organize itself for all community purposes, there will be no less need for a committee on recreation or some other body of citizens that will address itself to the local recreational problem. What its functions should be in general and may be in particular are best indicated, perhaps, by citing the definite objects of two or three existing organizations of this kind. The Recreational League of Springfield, 111., promotes "Social centers, the wider use of the school plant; parks, many of them, and where they are most needed; playgrounds, well- equipped and sufficient ; well ordered and safe dance halls ; athletics for all the boys and girls; artistic recreation places ; popular-priced concerts for all the people ; municipal bathing beaches ; summer camps for working boys ; athletics for young men." The Community Recreation Association of Cambridge, Mass., has for its avowed objects : "To pro- vide recreation and physical development, the year round, for adults as well as for children; to provide community centers where people of all ages may meet for social and educational purposes; to provide our foreign-born citizens * It is contrary to the writer's belief, however, that recreational work should be developed as a means to something else. It may lead to something else, and have a great variety of results but that is another matter. 316 Child Welfare in Tennessee with opportunities for Americanization in the best and widest sense of the term ; to co-ordinate all these activities under the control of a municipal recreation commission with an expert organizer in charge of the work." In Louis- ville there has been formed "a Community Council, which is a clearing house for the efforts and plans of all the agencies in any way concerned in the public welfare. The Recreation Committee of the Council will take up the ques- tion of supervision of commercialized recreation ; the social use of the school and the church plant; the development of parks and playgrounds; the promotion of community forums and community singing ; and all other matters con- nected with the leisure time of the people." The Recreation Commission of Memphis is practically a volunteer commit- tee of citizens, but with an official character. Rural com- munities, through civic organization, should develop their own programs of recreation without thought of imitating the cities. Recreation is usually regarded as primarily a problem of the local community, and so it is, to a very large extent. The problem of providing plentiful, wholesome recreation ^ and amusement and of safeguarding against unwholesome and unsafe recreation and amusement differs with differ- ences in communities. But state agencies have a function to perform, in respect of recreation as a local problem and as a state problem. The present inquiry is concerned with the place of recreation in state law and administration, or, more specifically, in a children's code. The following sug- gestions and recommendations are offered: 1. Though it is too early for Tennessee to undertake the establishment of a separate department of recreation in the state government, existing departments should be enabled to perform greater service in the matter of recrea- tion than is possible with the present funds and staff. The state education department and the state university, in particular, should be better able than now to respond in a variety of ways to the corresponding variety of calls that the local community may make upon them in trying to solve its own recreational problem. They should also be better Recreation 317 qualified, equipped and organized than now to give stimulus to local schools and communities and assume leadership in the recreational movement. They are properly concerned w^ith recreation not only because recreation is educational, but because they are strategically situated for doing the state-wide educational work among teachers and the public at large that makes state-wide recreational progress posr sible. How divide recreational service between them? This is a question that ought to be answered by the department and the university themselves. The writer merely sug- gests that the university specialize in community organiza- tion and in community music and drama; that the univer- sity and the education department co-operate in developing wider social and recreational use of the school plant; and the department of education concern itself especially with children's play and recreation in connection with the schools. 2. Compulsory physical training should be established in all the schools of the state and this should include the use of play and games. 3. A bureau of physical training and recreation should be created in the department of education, and administered by an officer whose duties should include supervision of the work, assistance to teachers in developing recreational ac- tivities, and the carrying on of recreational propaganda. 4. The school laws should be so amended that the de- partment of education should have full power to approve or condemn plans for the erection of any new school build- ing which did or did not meet definite requirements as to play space both inside and outside of the building. The requirements should be drawn up by the head of the bureau of physical training and recreation and approved by the board. 5. A law should be enacted providing somewhat as follows : "First, that an appropriation, not to exceed $100 for each county, is hereby set aside annually for the next four years, this fund to^ be used in the holding of an annual play festival and tournament by the elementary schools, or high schools, or both, of each county in the state ; this fund 318 Child Welfare in Tennessee to go only to those counties in which such a play festival or tournament is held, and the sum appropriated never to exceed the actual expense involved in the tournament itself. Second, that time spent by the children in the making of apparatus or play equipment, or in the erecting of such equipment, or in improving playgrounds, shall be credited as regular work in manual training. Third, that time spent by the older children, and especially by high school students in supervising or assisting in the play of younger children shall be credited as work in physical training, household arts of manual training."* 6. Tennessee should adopt the slogan, "Every school- house a community center." The consummation of this purpose, however, must be the result of a gradual process. The community center activities that may be developed in connection with the school must depend in large measure upon local conditions. The Cialifornia law — several states have similar laws — is suggestive and should be considered in any effort to draw a measure upon this subject for Ten- nessee. Included should be provisions (a) specifically au- thorizing the local school authorities to establish, equip and maintain school centers; (b) authorizing local appropria- tions for the support of school centers; (c) allowing the electors of the district to act upon the question of their establishment, if the school board does not go ahead; (d) prescribing for what purposes and under what conditions the schools may be used by individuals and organizations. 7. The passage of permissive legislation, in the form of a home-rule bill giving individual communities blanket poyer to develop broad systems of recreation and to place the administration under any department fitted by local conditions to carry on the work, is recommended. The draft prepared by the Playground and Recreation Associa- tion of America, and adopted in large part by the legisla- tures of six states, should be given careful attention and study in the framing of a law for Tennessee. * Closely after the language of Henry S. Curtis. CHAPTER V. RURAL LIFE. By CHARLES E. GIBBONS Within the last two years rural child welfare and coun- try life problems have commanded widespread interest. Not only organizations whose primary purpose is welfare work, but also those engaged in economic and business de- velopment, are giving attention to farms and farm life, although it is in the welfare field, due largely to war experiences, that the greatest activity is found. Before the war, the rural child and the conditions surrounding his life on the farm were scarcely thought of by, and much less known to, most child welfare workers, but today in this newly discovered field, a host have gone to work to "save" him. Agencies, societies and individuals having to do with health, schools, labor, dependency, delinquency and other matters are busy at their tasks. Unfortunately, each of these has assumed that the same plans and methods which have worked successfully for the city child will serve as well for the country child, for very few realize that there is any difference between urban and rural psychology. The city parent, as the result of a long period of what might be termed coercive education, has submitted to hav- ing the community attend to certain aspects of his children's care, and now accepts as a matter of course the laws and ordinances which prescribe what shall be done with his children for the general good. The community directs the city parent when, where and how long he must send his children to school ; at what age and under what conditions they may work ; as to the kind of water they may drink : as to procedure in case of contagious disease, dependency, delinquency or defectiveness. And the community main- 320 Child Welfare in Tennessee tains truancy officers, labor inspectors, health officers, pro- bation officers and other agents whose business it is to see that the parent obeys these laws and ordinances. But this is not true as to the country parent, and it is doubtful whether it ever will be so. Theoretically these reg- ulations apply to the country child and his parent, just as to the city child and his parent, but practically this is not the case. The country parent still retains most of the independence he enjoyed in pioneer times so far as the care of his children is concerned. He determines whether they shall or shall not go to school; whether they shall or shall not work, and if they do work he lays down the conditions and hours of labor; he supplies the water to drink and in matters of health, takes such measures as his degree of enlightenment or prejudice permits. It is not uncommon to find country parents keeping their chil- dren out of school if they have reason to believe that a doctor or nurse is to give physical examinations to those in attendance. If the children are delinquent, the parents administer punishment or not, as they see fit, but certainly many of them are ready to thrash the teacher should she attempt to do the correcting herself. The farmer is not to be censured for cherishing his independence. It is a natural characteristic. This spirit has been handed down from generation to generation and is the result of his mode of living, his work and his expe- riences. There has not been the same need for laws in the open country as in the congested city and he finds their application irksome. He has so often been the victim of fraud and chicanery that he has become suspicious of all movements carried on ostensibly for his benefit. He op- poses the raising of his taxes with the instinct of a natural born fighter. He has never stopped to figure out how a few extra dollars contributed to the public treasury might be a profitable investment for him. He has always been an individualist, and in all probability, even under ideal rural conditions, he will always be more individualistic than the man who lives in the city. He does not live as close to his neighbor as the city man does, for most of his Rural Life 321 time is spent working alone out in the field, completely cut off from any social intercourse. The very nature of his work — among livestock and, the growing grain — makes for an entirely different attitude from that developed by men who work with inanimate things. It does not follow, however, that because the farmer is unlike the city man, successful city-made institutions will not work well in the country, although we must frankly admit, that so far they have been generally a failure. Per- haps they can be made to serve if a sincere effort is put forth to adapt them to the conditions .peculiar to rural life. On the other hand, a wholly different system may have to be devised in order to make community action effective and wholesome in the country. Whatever plan is adopted, it seems clear that before it can be successfully put into operation, more must be known about the life of rural children, the economic conditions un- der which they are growing up, and the causes that underlie these conditions. With this in mind the writer has studied the economic conditions affecting the rural children of Tennessee, and in this report attempts to lay the basis for an estimate of the effect which certain fundamental eco- nomic factors have upon the welfare of children. For the purpose of the study, fourteen communities, scattered through the state, were chosen upon the advice of the Division of Extension of the College of Agriculture. The family has been taken as the unit for study, and information was obtained from an average of twenty-six families in each community. The principal economic factors considered are tenancy, land ownership, diversification of crops, livestock and soil fertility. Each community chosen is outstanding in re- spect to at least one of these factors. In other respects the communities are much alike. It will, of course, be recognized that in every community all these factors are more or less active, and that one factor influences another — for instance, tenancy forces a one-crop system — but the aim has been to consider communities where the contrasts are sharp in reference to single factors, other conditions 322 Child Welfare in Tennessee being as near alike as possible. A comprehensive question naire was taken to each home and answers obtained direct- ly from the family itself, by the investigators. Many of the questions were of a very personal nature, and it is remarkable that out of three hundred and sixty-nine fam- ilies visited, thyee hundred and sixty-eight schedules were filled. These were divided as follows: One hundred and ninety-one owners, including four colored families, and one hundred and seventy-seven tenants, including thirty-six colored families. Frequently answers could not be had to certain questions, but it was due to lack of information and not to a disinclination to answer. The spirit of co- operation was all that could be desired. The data were tabulated for tenants and owners in each community and tenants and owners for all the communities. At the outset it is only fair to say that conclusions drawn from a study of three hundred and sixty-eight fam- ilies may not be valid for the state as a whole. The num- ber is small. The figures do reveal the conditions in the communities studied and are used as an index for the state. It is hoped that this report will open the way for a more exhaustive and intensive study. Grateful acknowl- edgment is made of the cordial co-operation of the Division of Extension of the College of Agriculture under the direc- tion of Prof. Charles A. KefFer. The Division assigned Mr. W. W. Armentrout, who worked with the writer during the entire time that the data were being collected and who has read the manuscript. Mr. J. C. McAmis has been especially helpful with suggestions and advice, especially in the selecting of the communities. DIVISIONS AND COMMUNITIES. Geographically, Tennessee falls into three main divis- ions: East, Middle and West. E ast Tennessee. — ^What is- known as East Tennessee com- prises about one-fourth of the state's area and lies, as the name indicates, in the eastern part of the state. The Unaka range of the Appalachian Mountains extends along Rural Life 3255 its eastern, and the Cumberland Mountains along its went- ern border. For the most part, the Unaka Mountains are unfit for agricultural purposes. Between the two ranges lies what is known as the East Tennessee Valley, in a north- easterly and southwesterly direction, and averaging from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles in width. The lands of this valley are rolling to hilly, having a wide range of fertility. There are many ridges running parallel to the mountains, the tops of which are of from medium to poor fertility and in their present state are best adapted to wild pastures and fruit-growing. The small valleys made by the ridges are more fertile, while the bottom- lands along the streams rival the best soils of the state in power to produce grains and grasses. This'section has a wonderful opportunity for the development of water power. It is given over to grain farming and stock raising. The leading crops are corn, hay, wheat and other small grains, named In the order of their importance. Special crops have been developed in certain sections, as tobacco in Greene County, orcharding in Roane and Bradley Counties, and commercial trucking, especially strawberries and tomatoes, in Rhea County. Cattle is the principal livestock, a few of the best bred herds of the state and even of the coud- try, being found here. The greatest interest, however, it- not in pure bred stock but in grazing cattle, and in dairying around the small towns. Poultry is found on nearly everj farm and has come to be a very important source of in- come, especially for the women and children. The rural population is principally white — owning, living upon and working the land. The farms average slightly fewer than one hundred acres, a little more than half being cleared land. According to the 1910 census the percentage of tenancy was 29.08 as compared with 32.22 for 1900. Three communities were selected in this section for detailed study— Holston Valley near Bristol, Hale near Morristown, and Mt. Pleasant near Greeneville. Holston Valley was chosen primarily because the people are interested in livestock more than in any other single factor. The chief crops are corn, small grain, hay and 324 Child Welfare in Tennessee grass, and the greater part of these, except wheat, is con- sumed by the livestock. At Hale community the people are chiefly interested in hay and grain farming, but the crops are sold and not fed to livestock. It is similar to Holstbn Valley in reference to diversification, fertility of soil and land ownership, but has considerably less livestock. Mt. Pleasant was chosen because of a small tobacco acreage on most of the farms, in addition to its diversified crop system of corn, hay and small grain. This gives an opportunity to compare conditions in a community where the cash crop and the feed and food crops are properly balanced^ with one where the cash crop is grown to the exclusion of almost all other crops. Middle Tennessee. — Middle Tennessee is, as its name implies, in the central part of the state, lying between East and West Tennessee. It is made up of three divisions — the Plateau, the Rim and the Basin. The Basin lies in the central part of the section, in a more or less irregular circle. Geologically, it is a new soil and usually very rich in plant food, particularly phos- phates, but as a rule it is very shallow because of the near- ness of the rock to the surface, which characteristic causes the land to withstand drought poorly and the hilly sec- tions to wash badly. The chief interest is in pastures and livestock — formerly mules, but now cattle and sheep. While primarily a pasture country, still a great amount of grain crops, especially corn, wheat and oats, are raised — in fact, too much of them, because of the bad washing of the soil. The dairying interest is rapidly developing in this part. Cotton is grown to a limited extent in the southern part of the Basin and adjacent Rim lands. Surrounding the Basin in a narrow, irregular belt of the gray soils of the Rim. These are largely undeveloped, growing scrubby cross-tie timber and wild, coarse grasses. These are the poorest soils of the state and are known locally as "the barrens." The soils lie well but are poorly drained and very* deficient in plant food. On limited areas such crops as corn^ sorghum and red top are grown.. To- Rural Life 325 bacco is grown extensively in the northern and northwestern part of the area. The remainder of the Rim is made up of red soils which almost encircle the gray, lying adjacent to the Plateau on the east, to the state boundary lines both north and south, and to the Tennessee river on the north- west. The cropping system, on the East sector of the Rim is very similar to that of the East Tennessee Valley, with- out, however, so much live stock. A large part of the stock raised is taken to the Plateau for summer grazing and back to the Rim lands for winter feeding. The production of crimson clover seed has especially developed in Franklin and adjoining counties. The production of dark tobacco is the principal industry in the north and northwestern parts of the red soils of the Rim. This centers around Springfield and Clarksville. Over much of this tobacco area the production of feed and food crops is distinctly a side line. The Plateau is a broad high tableland lying between the eastern part of the Rim and the western border of the East Tennessee Valley. A considerable part of the Plateau, particularly the edges, is rugged and unfit for farming. The remainder lies well, but for the most part is undeveloped, being covered with scrubby timber and wild grasses. The soils respond readily to proper handling, are easily worked, and well adapted to the growing of potatoes, rye, bucfc wheat and other red top grasses. On the whole, the liorth- ern soil types are more fertile than the southern. The size of the farms in the Basin and of those in the tobacco section of the Rim is considerably larger than those of East Tennessee. The farms in the other parts of the Rim, and on the Plateau, are much smaller — at least, the amount' of tillable land is much smaller. There are a great many tenants in the tobacco section and their number has undoubtedly been an important factor in making the per- centage of tenancy for Middle Tennessee so high. In 1910, according to the Census, it was 34.37 per cent. Four communities in this section were chosen for de- tailed study : Hickory Point and Lockart, near Clarksville, Maple Hill near Lebanon, and fifteen families on the Pla- 326 Child Welfare in Tennessee teau. These last were not, however, living in one com- munity, but selected at random in going from Crossville by- Jamestown to Oneida. Hickory Point was chosen because tobacco is the chief crop and has been grown for years almost to the exclusion of all other crops. The land is largely cultivated by ten- ants and is badly worn by constant tobacco cropping. There is very little grain raised and practically no livestock. Information was had from ten families at Lockart, a tobacco community in another part of the county. The soil is a little better, the crops slightly more diversified and more livestock raised. Maple Hill is west of Lebanon and in the Basin, and was chosen because of its. interest in a co-operative cream- ery, owned and operated by the farmers of the county. Farm ownership prevails. The soil is fertile and crops are diversified. The chief interest is in raising cattle for dairy purposes. A trip through the Plateau section was made to see what the conditions were in an undeveloped agricultural region. Here a large part of the income is derived from work in the timber, while the women and children work in the fields. West Tennessee. — West Tennessee is that part of the state lying west of the Tennessee River. The section has stretches of level landj principally along the stream, but much of it is hilly and in places is rather steep and washes badly. The elevation on the whole is low. The upland soils are badly worn by a continuous cropping of cotton in the central and southern parts and of tobacco in the north. The northwest comer lies well and has a very fertile soil; here diversified farming is carried on, com and clover especially being grown, and much live stock — chiefly hogs — being raised. Comparatively little stock is raised in the major part- of the section. The largest truck area of the state is located in Gibson County, but the area devoted to this is very small as' compared with cotton and tobacco. A large part of the population is colored and there are Rural Life 327 many tenants, both white and black. According to the 1910 Census, the percentage of tenancy was 56.79 as com- pared with 54.99 in 1900. Especially in the cotton and tobacco regions, the land is held in large tracts, much of it by absentee landlords. Seven communities were selected in this section for detailed study: Warren, Williston, Glade Springs, Nance, Quincy, Center Hill and Buena Vista. The first three are in Fayette County. Warren was chosen because of its extreme condition of shiftless white tenancy ; Williston, be- cause of its extreme condition of black tenancy. Cotton is the chief crop in both communities. There is no diver- sification and practically no livestock in either. There is much absentee ownership, particularly at Warren. Glade Springs stands out as a black and white tenant community. There is considerable diversification on the part of the landowners themselves, but beneficial effects of this upon the tenants were not noticed. There is not, how- ever, so much absentee ownership as at Warren or Willis- ton, but the tenants raise little except cotton. Nance and Quincy are in Crockett County. Of owner- ship in West Tennessee Nance is a good illjistration. The farms are small and there is considerable diversification, although cotton is the chief crop. There are quite a good many tenants, but there is rather a marked tendency for them to pass into the land-owning class. There is con- siderable live stock. Quincy, on the other hand, is a tenant community. The people are shiftless and move about much more than at Nance. All the evils of the tenancy system are found here, but not to so marked an extent as in the Fayette County communities. There is practically no absentee ownership and the farms are owned in relatively small tracts. The contrast between Nance and Quincy is quite sharp. Center Hill is in Henderson County and was chosen be- cause of its extremely poor soil. Cotton is the chief crop and there is but little livestock. It is a tenant community. The ownership of the land changes often. The tenants are shiftless and move frequently, the shortest tenure having been found in this community. 328 Child Welfare in Tennessee Buena Vista is in Carroll County. It was selected be- cause, for West Tennessee, the land is very fertile, although as a whole it is gradually losing its fertility because of the cropping system. ' There is, however, a good deal of diversification and, among the owners, considerable live- stock. There are a few more tenants than owners. The land is owned in fairly large tracts and there is little ab- sentee ownership. The contrast between this community and Center Hill is very marked. POPULATION. By far the largest part of the people of Tennessee live on farms. According to the 1910 Census the population of the state was 2,184,789. Of this number 20.2 per cent lived in cities with a population of 2,500 or more, and 6.1 per cent in smaller incorporated places, leaving 73.6 per cent or 1,609,804 living in the open country. Figures are not given by ages for the smaller incorporated places, all places of 2,500 or more inhabitants being classed as urban and those of fewer inhabitants as rural ; on the basis of this classification, 58,215 children fourteen years of age and un- der were returned as urban, and 352,103 as rural. Hence in 1910, 14 per cent of the state's children fourteen years of age and under were living in territory classed as urban, and 86 per cent in territory classed as rural. The relative magnitude of rural child welfare considerations is im- pressive. WEALTH. I If we look at agriculture from the standpoint of the amount of wealth created annually, we should expect to find children on Tennessee farms enjoying all the advantages and protection of normal child life. According to the esti- mates of the Federal Department of Agriculture, the. value of all the crops alone in Tennessee for the year 1919 was over 355 million dollars. The children are entitled to the benefits of this wealth — good schools, good health condi- tions, good work conditions, good houses to live in, good Rural Life 829 water to drink and good chances to play. The money is there to buy all these things. Is the state seeing to it that these children— the bulk of her children— are getting what is due them? Of the 191 owner families studied, the average number of children at home on the farm per family is 2.64, and of the 177 tenant families the average is 2.65. In the age group "over 16" owners have .63 children and tenants .35 ; in the "8 to 16" age group owners have 1.15 children and tenants 1.05; and in the "under 8" age group owners have .85 children and tenants 1.24 per family at home on the farm. In the one crop communities the owners have an average of 2.68 children per family as compared with 2.55 for the tenants. In the diversified communities owners have an average per family of 2.50 children while the tenants have an average of 2.88 per family. Twenty-six owner families and 28 tenant families have no children at all on their farms. By eliminating these families, the owners remaining have an average of 3.06 children per family and the tenants remaining, an average of 3.05. In the families having one or more children, the average number in the different age groups per family is as follows: "Over 16," owners 1.71 and tenants 1.58; "8 to 16" age group, owners 2.04 and tenants' 2.11 ; and in the "under 8" age group, owners 1.83 and tenants 1.87. There is practically no difference in the size of the fam- ilies when all ages and all families are considered. The figures do show, however, that more children in the lower age groups are found in tenant families than in owner families. This is to be expected as tenancy normally pre- cedes ownership and as the family grows older it may enter the owner class. CHILD LABOR. The significant thing in connection with the foregoing discussion is that since the tenant parent has only his labor against the owner's land and labor, he depends more upon the help of his children than does the owner, consequently a younger group of children are called upon to help assume 330 Child Welfare in Tennessee a w iz; j o o 5 lo eo o N c-. rn oc oq N o esj _; '.J _; -J ^' ■-; i-i ih ih ih 'ih ■ n th ; Mpun -ON gS S S ?3 00 -^ iO W CD l> OI>t-00TH00iH M r-i t- O lO O lO 9T o:j 8 -ON §3 S S S '^ S "^ ^ S t> CO t- US CO CD «0 rH 00 aS-eaaAy to CD t- LO O us O •^ CO U3 O O O lO CO CD LO CO lO CO 9X J8A0 '0^ OOOOCO"^OCSO 00 Ci'^lOCOWOg "tpoooco 1-i ^ o t-coeaoooio 9S'BJ9AV CDCqiO-^OOiO Ci lOOOOJCDiOiOCO NC^CONWCOi-H T-H C^o4oOCOi-*00(N uaapiiqo -on g S 5 S °° S S ■* 03 th eg CO i-i c- S^IIi^'^Li "N (NCNTHrH (MtH (Mr- i-l t- O 00 (N O rH O O00WOrHC> ?0 ■^ -^rHlOOOlO 3SBJ3AV ^- ^- ^- • • • rt- • ^ ^ • • • ^ • 8 japun -o^ aSejSAy 9X o:j 8 "ON aSBJBAy 9X JSAO -o^i 9SBJ9Ay oa t- CO eg CO lo t- th CD eg CO o CO o CD CO r-j OS lo eg ■^ ' tH tH tH tH T-H » 00 O OO 00 oc cc T-H -^ CO CO 00 CD lO CD lO Oi 00 lO -^ tH 00 CD U3 lO t- CD lo eg CO eg eg eg CO y-f iH-^CilOi-ICOeO T-t CO tH rH rH tH CD 03 t- eg o o •* lo CO O CS 00 rH to rH N in CO t- eg r- rH CO »-) rH rH eg rH eg . . eg eg c- ■* 00 lo t- _ lo o CO CO o eg g * rH rH TTaTnTTTI^^ -irtkT rH CO "^ W3 CD O 05 UaJpiIHJ 10^ rH CO CO CO rH CO CO seiiiuiBj "OM '^ 2 rt S '^ ?H 2 CD eg CO eg rH o o o o ■<1" CO N CO eg eg rH cg ■* ea CO LO t- o CO CO O s Til CO o I o Q O m S IB o o O O pi 8 S|| eS a ri h O O *Fj o E-i H « fc CO "^ -^ rH O rH rH eg rH rH eg eg rH oj ■a a a a 3. S T3 ^ « « -s la s S 5 S i 2 2 .fc -3 I s p OJO J Q fe B ^o>j ^ ^ Suipu9^q.V ' ™ 3uipu9^:>B ^o^ >H I th I lo 'S 'S P^^ M^JfUQ O>(M00(MCOlOU5 M OCM0OCOIMCCI-* 3uipu9;:jV 9DU3a;ajg[ipuj | ^^u■B:^SIp [ puB a;aq:^B9j^ SS9U3(3{S "-I ■s iS^jBinSgj |ooqDS 3uipu9^:jB'^o^[ XXJBinSaj lOoqDS 3uipu9;^V g puB qojnqo Suipusct^B ION , S puB qojnqo Suipu9:j:jV IN t> T-l O t- IN r-l O (N IN rH rH "<* CO t> oa CO CD rH OS tH rH tH CO U a o o o Pi |H EH ■^ ■^. 1^ rt ^ eg d >, >, U lU a a a BBS -4J +i +3 O O CS ot o o 13 1 \l 1 g 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 1 1 1 'S Q 1 1 1 1 a s 1 1 1 M 1 1 O 1 i "B 1 ns 1 1^ 1 1 " 1 1 a 1 o ?! -s i > i 1 •rH 1 i -« i a « 1 1 ft : 1 'g ^^ 1 m •S s '3 "S h - dojo-3uo Xoucuajj ^ 5 -a " o o o J P i3 s •. 'Ph CO m h V T3 c: e 1 -« h s 3 eS'M p-^ >% s f g S S •M M ■d « t»- < « o :jIDO;s aAvj saiiJUiBj •ON sdojo VXO/A. S,UBIU0J\\ S9I11WBJ -ajsi saoanos jaq^to S9HIUIBJ -ojii autoDui ^a>i sajnwiBj "o^ 5J00^S 3Aiq sai^ituBf "ojsi sdoio soniwiBJ 'ON SSJIIUI'BJ "ON saoanos aaq^O sainwiBj '01^ auiooui ^aN saiituiBJ "ON a o c;> o K tH r-^ IQ r-1 CD O CO rj< (M i-H O fH C™ ^ (N W CO O -^ O r-t N W T-1 r-t ffC ' cq N ^ 00 «5 -^ I Oi O ■^ "^ O iH 1 iH t" OS t- Oi '-C t* O '^ Tl< 00 "^ CM O 00 CD la ia -^ ^ ^ <^ ■<-* NC^'^COTfOT-l ,H ^ oa r O 00 T-i (M 0> O I t- lO Tj* 00 CO Tp tH iH CO ■^ I OS O "^ '^ iH CO 00 CD Oi CD -^ lO (N tH CO cm "^ N (M (N "^ CO '^ O iH (M W i-t rH N tH Tjt -^ 00 N O W lO t- (N CD CD O CO b- CO 1-H 00 ■^ CO C<1 CO 05 00 CO ■^ lO C5 O -^ "^ CO tH tH l> Tf t" 1-H C^ *-( lO CO ■^ U3 lO t> O lO iH OJ tH C^ i-H tH iH CM Od ■* CO ■* o tH iH Tjl in 03 OS •>* ■>* in (M IM tH tH (N rH 00 00 ■^ -^ lO iO ■* m ^ CO IN iO in IN CO 7-1 tH tH t* (N (N ■* CD ■^ o rH tH -* CO OS o ■* ■>» t- Cq (M 1-{ iH IN rH (N i~* rH tH iL/J 00 m m 00 t- tH lO rH 00 rH tH cj a> O^ lO' tH 00 c- os 00 o o 00 OS E; S 2 CO t- IN y-i CO ca CO CO o iH in d tH (M CO o CO CO IN CO in SS Tl" OS o rH •* tH T-l 1-1 i-< rH tH IN T-i rH OJ tH t* tH CO w t> w a 05 Oi ca in :? 00 o rt t* CO o o^ CO o rH CO LO o M o o lo eo rH a> l-( IN CO r-t m t* t- in 00 tH Csl t- T-t tM tH IN rH M CO o CO CO IN CO co -* JS S •H ^ rH t-H tH rH rH IN rH tH CJ rH t- tH t- iH in OS 1-i 00 t- CD CO 00 o lO 00 N O CO in 05 00 ■* in CO in CO o T-i iH in ■* o rH C4 IN rH rH (M CO o CO CO IN CO T— 1 CO ■* ■* m o tH 00 tH iH tH rH r-i N rH tH N rH t- fH in in (N -* ■* CO in N N CO in CO iH t- s °> t> 50 T-H 00 rH o ■* c- CO "* 00 rH T-( CO IN 04 ■* CO o> CO N eo tH N N tH t-( tH i-i CJ tH rH rH N rH rH (N CO O CO CO (N CO in eo N ■* OS O tH CD tH rH rH y-i rH N »H rH rH ei rH 00 tH 1 1 1 1 . 1 1 a •3 g 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 "?> & « -g P 1 8 * 1 ■s s 1 o n in (3 s -8 t 1 •a a 5 n 1 [ 'S ii Cotton Cotton Cotton 1 1 a 6 •H 3 e Grain . Grain Live s Dariyi; dOJD-SUO £ouisu»x UOIfVOyiSISAIQ diqexauMQ Rural Life 849 income and 37 stock-raising families that had an aver- age of $76.00. The actual number of families who had this income from other sources was divided as follows: 30 in the one-crop communities, and 19 in the diversified crop communities of which 12 were in the grain communities and 7 in the livestock communities. Tenants' Income from Other Sources during 1919. In the one-crop communities the 130 tenant families had an average supplemental income of $105.00, while the 41 families in the diversified communities had an average of $149.00. The 28 families in grain-farming communities averaged $116.00 and the 13 in stock-raising communities $220.00. The actual number of families who reported sup- plemental incomes was divided as follows: 85 in the one- crop communities and 33 in the diversified crop commu- nities. All the families living in the livestock communities and 20 in the grain-farming communities reported incomes from other sources. The following figures show the, total family income — i. e., the income from other sources added to the net income from the land: Owners. In the one-crop communities, owners had an average total income of $1,406.0, and in diversified crop communities, $1,384.00, a difference of only $22.00. In the grain-farming communities they had $1,015.00, and in the stock-raising communities, $1,844.00, a difference of $829.00. Tenants . In the one-crop communities, tenants had an average total income of $594.00, and in the diversified communities, $494.00. The grain-farming tenants had $547.00 and the tenants in the stock-raising communities, $406.00. The significant thing in all these figures is the marked difference between the incomes of owners and of tenants. In the one-crop communities the tenants' total income was 42.2 per cent of the owners' and in diversified crop commu- 350 Child Welfare in Tennessee nities it was only 35.7 per cent of the owners'. In the grain farming communities it was 52.9 per cent, and in the stock- raising communities, 22.5 per cent of the owners' incomes. If the tenants are receiving a living wage for their labor, then the owners are receiving an inordinate profit on their land, for since the families are the same in size, one group can live as cheaply as the other. On the other hand, if the tenants do not have a decent living income — and the evi- dence strongly points that way — then it is clear that a part of the landowners' profits rightfully belongs to the tenants as being necessary to them for maintaining a reasonable standard of living. There is really very little difference in the incomes of the tenants wherever found, when all factors are taken into consideration. Everything considered, the grain-farming tenants probably have a little the advantage. There is less inequality between what they receive and what the owners receive. Their supplemental income, which means for the most part the amount of money they earn as day laborers working for the landlord, is 21.6 per cent of their total in come as compared with 17.7 per cent for the one-crop tenants and 54.2 per cent for the tenants in the stock-raising com- munities. Diversification of crops has somewhat influenced their lot, but its influence in their favor is not to be com- pared with what it has done for owners. They do not move as often as either of the other two groups do and are not bound so closely by the restrictions of the credit system. The highest total incomes for tenants are found in the one-crop communities. Here is also found the lowest sup- plemental income. The tendency is to give the tenant as much land for the so-called cash crops as he and his family can handle, hence he does not have so much time to work as a day laborer for the landlord. He moves more fre- quently and is much more subject to the evils of the credit system than is the tenant in diversified farming communi- ties. The extortionate interest rates and other disadvan- tages from which he suffers, more than offset the $100.00 difference between his total income and that of the tenant in the diversified farming communities. Rural Life 351 The status of the tenant in the livestock communities is practically that of an intermittent day laborer. As a rule, he is given a minimum amount of land to farm — ^just enough to hold him — and 54.2 per cent of his total income is de- rived from his labor for the landowner. The ovi^ners in these communities had the highest incomes, and the tenants hfid the lowest. Corn is the chief crop and is used for bread and to fatten meat. Practically no livestock is raised for the market. Tenancy at best is not a money-making proposition. Diversification of crops and livestock raising, which all au- thorities agree are the best means of farm development, have worked well for the owners, but have scarcely touched the tenants. POOD. What do the farms in the several communities contribute to the family table? Inquiry was made about the follow- ing items used by the families — garden supplies, eggs, chick- ens, meat, flour, meal, potatoes, fruits and vegetables canned, and milk expressed in the number of cows per family. For a long time it has been a popular belief that those engaged in producing things to eat have all they want and a great variety of food. That there is some doubt about this in the case of a great many families is indicated! by the following' figures : Out of 174 owner families, 122 reported good gardens, 34 fair and 18 poor, and of 170 tenant families 94 reported good gardens, 33 fair, 27 poor and 16 jione at all. By a "good garden" is meant one that furnishes an abundant supply of vegetables for family use during the growing season, by a "fair garden" one that just barely supplies enough, and by a "poor garden" one in which the supply is inadequate. These terms are relative, and in the absence of exact information as to just what the gardens produced, the figures are only indicative. It is significant, however, that 16 families said they had no gardens at all, and that 45 families said their supply of vegetables was inadequate. 352 Child Welfare in Tennessee I .13 w w o s;iBnb-s3iqB:> S S m oo n It? siaqsnq-s8o:jB:^o (N N to 00 lO tH O SMOD qoiljn ^- ^- • • ■ ^ ^ •spqsnq iB3i\[ 03T(lt>r-l(Mt-tO iH CO lO O -^ lO U3 t- •sq|-:jq3noq anoi^j lc c- to t- m oo •* •sqi-pasiBj jnotj[ ■* t- 05 to to c- ■^ ■sqi-pasiBj %VSM S § g ^ S 5 S sua^ioiqo suazop-sSSg sij.aBnb-saiq'B^ -o3aA puB s:nna^3 spqsnq-sao:jB:^ofl CO (M CO eg t- t- O 05 CO O (M OO-T-I T-i cq o in 0,T|l 03 to t- CO o rH tH (N IJ^ O O W t- ,0 O 05 tr- C- t- t- ■sq|-p3srej jno|j[ =■ ° 53 •pp-^qSnoq ^jsajii •sqi-pasrej ;e3]^ g S ^ 00 Ca SU33l3iqO o rH N 10 ■* t- su3zop-s3Sa S S £ o o t- o o 10 to CO CO rH O O O O O O 00 O t- CO U3 lO -^ O iH to UJ CO Til OJ CO -^ m th 03 CO C4 03 to 1* t- N u tj n) CI) 3 3 I .■s^ >. >; a « IM 03 to 00 CO i-^NNiHi-ItHiH y-^ CO 00 o — — iJS O O H SiS e^S •S o o M IXi u dOJD-auO iC0UI3U3J, 03 to •lop-wSnoq :;Baj\[ o^coi-iojcotji a» eo "^H ^H ^^H CO ^^ ^^ '"^ t- eo 10 ■<* IM 03 O. eo 00 00 ■<* CO to to a I o m CO I LM 00 O 1 U3 LO CO iH I N T-I ■* O I 10 CO •* IN I ■> "H rH rH ' r-i rH CO c- ea 10 rH CO t- to N Til OQ CO 10 t- to t- t- O O CO t- eo O c- co CO CO CO t- O O OS rH CO t- T^ rH 00 03 N 00 rH tH to. rH ^ 00 CO Ca C- Til CO N CO r^ OS CO rH rH CO rH CO 00 CO O O CO rH rH 10 CO 1 I OJ Tji o I I Tji rH eo t I rH Cq rH I 10 00 kO l> 1 CO IN CO Ol to 10 I CO t- CO O I l> O (N CO ' c4 ei OS 00 rH t- t- rH CO r^ O O Tj t- c- t-, t>.OJ.C0 to 00 to O to 00 O CQ 10 ei rH N CO rH t- CO CO eo rH _ O O O rH O rH 00 "O t- 10 fa rH rH lO CJ t- rH O OS OS rH CO t- to to 10 la la -<4i eo T^ OS ^ ^ t- t- to t- to s a 9 •5 J 'O O J fi ^ 'PL, nopvoyisisAici %< Rural Life 358 Chickens and Eggs Owners' families in one-crop communities each con- sumed on the average 58 dozen eggs and 40 chickens during the year 1919. Those in diversified crop communities used on the average 70 dozens of eggs and 50 chickens. Tenants' families in one-crop communities consumed on the average, 29 dozen of eggs and 18 chickens, and those in diversified crop communities used the same number of eggs and 22 chickens. Thus it will be seen that tenants under each of these types of farming used only half as many eggs and less than half as many chickens as the owners used for family consumption. If the figures are examined for diversified farming, we find that the owners on the average consumed 4 dozen eggs and 4 chickens per family less in the grain communities than in the livestock communities — not much difference. On the other hand for the tenants the difference is quite large and is the other way about. The grain-farming tenants used an average of 37 dozen eggs and 28 chickens, while those in the stock-raising communities used 17 dozen eggs and 12 chickens. Meat The figures presented apply wholly to pork. The amount of beef, veal and mutton consumed by the families is ex- tremely small as compared with the pork used. Owners buy practically no meat. The amount they raise varies from 643 pounds net weight in the poor land com- munity to 1,250 pounds in the grain and limited tobacco community. The difference between the average amount raised in the one-crop communities and that raised in the diversified crop communities is very small. In the former it was 947 pounds and in the latter 961 pounds. The grain community owners raised an average of 107 pounds more than the livestock owners. For the tenants the differences are more marked. The one-crop tenants raised an average of 418 pounds and bought $16.00 worth, while the diversified crop tenants raised an average of 526 pounds and bought $30.00 worth. 354 Child Welfare in Tennessee When the diversified crop tenants are divided into grain and livestock groups, we find the former raised an average of 667 pounds and bought $13.00 worth, and the latter raised only 304 pounds and bought $47.00 worth. Here the difference in the amount spent for meat would not pur- chase the difference in the amounts raised. Hence, the con- sumption of meat among tenants in the stock-raising com- munities is less than in grain-farming communities. There is probably not much difference in the amounts consumed by the one-crop tenants and the stock-raising tenants. The important thing to consider here is the great differ- ence between what the owners raise and what the tenants raise. The landowners sell considerable meat to their ten- ants, but they keep for themselves the most desirable parts, such as the hams and shoulders, and sell the cheaper parts, such as the side meat and jowls, to the tenants. Even so, the $19.00 which was the average amount the tenants spent for meat, would not purchase half the difference between what the two groups raised. The landowner and his family have more and better meat than the tenant and his family. Flour There is practically no difference in the amounts of flour used by owners in one-crop communities and in diversified crop communities. In the former 86. per cent is bought, whereas in the latter 41 per cent is bought. In the grain communities the consumption was 1,059 pounds, 42 per cent of which was bought, and in the livestock communi- ties it was 897 pounds, 40 per cent of which was bought. The tenants in the one-crop communities used 684 pounds as against 795 pounds used by those in the diversified crop communities, the difference being 111 pounds. In the for- mer, they bought nearly 98 per cent of their flour, and in the latter they bought slightly more than 67 pei" cent. The grain-farming tenants consumed 872 pounds, of which 68 per cent was bought, while the tenants in the stock- raising communities consumed 660 pounds, two-thirds of which was bought. The 166 tenant families each used a little less than 74 per cent as much flour as did the 171 owner families. Rural Life 355 Meal The owners in one-crop communities used an avfrage of 16 bushels of meal, while those in the diversified comrixani- ties used 11 bushels. In the grain communities they used on the average 13 bushels per family, and in the stock- raising communities an average of 10 bushels. The average amount consumed by the owner families on the Plateau was 37 bushels. The average for all owners is 17 bushels a year. The tenants used much less. The one-crop tenants used an average of 12 bushels and the diversified crop tenants 9 bushels. The tenants on the Plateau also used a large amount — 31 bushels. The average for all the tenants was 12 bushels. Milk The most important single item in the diet, especially of children, is milk. The owners in one-crop communities had an average of 1.72 cows per family. Those in the diversified crop communities had 2.46 cows per family. In only one — a cotton tenant community — was the average number of cows per owner family below one and a half, while in two — ^both negro tenant communities — it was two or above. The livestock owners had an average of 3.05 cows per fam- ily and the grain-farming owners had 2.14 cows per family. The tenants in one-crop communities also have fewer cows per family than do the tenants in diversified commu- nities. In the former the average was 1.05 and in the latter 1.34. In the one-crop communities the lowest average (.5 cows per family) was found in a tobacco community and the highest average (1.27 cows per family) in a white tenant community. In the diversified crop communities the lowest average was 1.20 cows per family for the livestock tenants and 1.41 for the grain-farming tenants. Here the relative numbers are reversed as compared with the owners. When the average is taken for all families, it is found that owners have almost twice as many cows to supply milk for the family as the tenants have. There were only 3 owners who reported no cows, while 34 tenants reported none. 356 Child Welfare in Tennessee The specialists in the Division of Extension estimate that a cow in West Tennessee, where most of the one-crop communities are, will give milk for a period of seven months in the year. During this period the cow will give approximately 324 gallons or 1.54 gallons daily. The average size of the tenant family is 4.55 persons in the one-crop communities. Since they have an average of 1.05 cows per family, we find they have an average of 1.62 gallons daily or 1.42 quarts of milk per person. On the same basis the owners in the one-crop communi- ties have an average of 2.07 quarts of milk per day per person. It must be kept in mind, however, that this is the possible maximum consumption, including the amount used for butter, during only seven months of the year. During the remaining five months they have no milk at all. Taking the grain and limited tobacco and livestock com- munities in East Tennessee, we find the average amount of milk per person per day is 4.18 quarts for owners and 1.84 quarts for tenant families. Here it is estimated that a cow will give an average of 455 gallons of milk during 8 months of the year. This is because the cows are better bred and a greater amount of pasture is raised for them. The most striking thing about the foregoing figures is the wide difference in what the farm contributes to the own- ers' table and to the tenants' table. The tenants use only 47 per cent of the number of eggs and 41 per cent of the number of chickens, the owners use. They raise 46 per cent of the amount of meat raised by owners. In addition they spend an average of $19.00 per family for meat, while the owners spend practically nothing. This will not, however, bring the consumption to that of the owners. Tenants consume slightly less than 74 per cent of the amount of flour which owners consume, but only a little more than 10 per cent of this flour is made of wheat raised by them- selves, while a little over 34 per cent of that consumed by owners is made of the wheat they raise. The tenants con- sumed 70 per cent as much meal and have just half as many cows for the family milk supply. Rural Life 357 In comparing the grain-farming communities with the livestock communities we find that among the owners there is very little difference in what the farm contributes to the family table. The livestock owners use slightly more eggs, chickens and milk, but less flour and meat than do the grain farmers. On the other hand, the contrast between what the tenants have under these two types of farming is very strik- ing; in the livestock communities they use less than half as many eggs and chickens as the grain-farming tenants do. They raise 45 per cent as much meat and buy an average of $47.00 worth per family as compared with an average of $13.00 for the grain-farming tenants. They raise less flour and buy less flour and have' less milk. In every instance, except with reference to flour and milk, the tenants in the livestock communities have less than the tenants in the one-crop communities. But the additional food value of these two items will not offset the deficiency in food value of the other items, hence the farm actually contributes less to the family table of tenants living in live- stock communities than it does even to the table of the one- crop tenant. Keeping in mind that the livestock owners have the greatest income, it is difficult to understand why their ten- ants have the poorest living. In so far as the farm contributes to the family's living, the tenants in the grain-farmings sections have by far the best chance. They have more on which to live because they raise more, and this being the case, they buy less. SANITATION. One of the worst features of rural life anywhere is the pollution of the water supply and the general unsanitary conditions. Tennessee is no exception to this rule as the following table indicates : 358 Child Welfare in Tennessee CO m s e S I s u 0) rt « I? o CO V s o A ns. « S « M W CO ^ .« asnoq ui i i i i i i CO I o ■>* uiaq.st3 I 3uudg "^ I l|3A pajog 5 5h -H i ^ im I I IN I I •* II II (N I I O rH I I eq iH lo (M 00 th N to in d r-l I I I CO I la la III I 1-t cp III I tH i-H CO I I C*t- I tH CO I tH W (M I la w> th I II I tH I Oi T-^ -^ T-l I 00 O I I CO IN I CO CO m I CO tH CO C-OiO O-^IM l>0«0C0O tH tH OJ I T-( OS lO asnoq uj uja^jsiQ Suudg H8M. pajog rH OS c- XI9M. dUinj --IC^ 1 itH-* 1 1 CMrHOOIN INMW Oi <5ira3 JDC3 O.IM.t-N-^Ni-IO tOCr-IOOOOCO O bUddJ-^t) rH rH rH rH rHrHrHrHrH tOt- QnailOT rHIMOOO-^mON OSOCOrHtOTtOeO S4°lS"Ji T-( rH rHrHrHrHCqrH OOC- rH '^alTlUl'BJ "OW CdCOrHCDtDWCOm CO'^-'frHOrHO adtlLLUO^ iX ^^^ ^^^ NrHrHNNrHrH a '3 o u 6k o ^ OS rt o o o e e s c S S o 3 S S c I " _ ■w -g T3 o S s S ^ C8 ■a c 5 o -^ S o H M PL, U S fi g '3 'S OQ )H 60 3 ^ g S <> U is o doja-duo Kouvudj, 'pn UOI^BDyiOiaAIQ {XiqsjauMO Rural Life 359 Toilets Only 63.6 per cent of the owners' homes in the one- crop communities have toilets, and in the diversified crop communities, 85.8 per cent ; 82.3 per cent of the grain-farm- ing owners' homes have toilets as against 90.2 per cent ifor the livestock owners' homes. Only in the poor land com- munity are conditions in this respect strikingly bad for the owners ; here not a single home has a toilet of any kind. For the tenants the conditions are much worse. In the one-crop communities 38.4 per cent of their homes have toilets as against 53.5 per cent in the diversified farming communities; 51.7 per cent of the grain-farming tenants' homes have toilets, while 57.1 per cent of the homes in live- stock communities have them. Not a single toilet was found at any of the homes of tenants in the poor land community nor in one of the tobacco communities. Even where homes have toilets they are practically all outdoors and of the open-back privy variety. Most of them are in filthy condition. They are not flyproofed and gen- erally not built in such a way as to meet- a minimum stand- ard for decent living. Screens For the owners the situation as to screens is about the same as to toilets. In one-crop communities 65.9 per cent of the homes are screened ; in the diversified crop communi- ties 79.2 per cent ; in grain communitie>5 52.9 per cent, and in livestock communities 87.9 per cent. For the tenants, less than half as many homes have screens as have toilets. In the one-crop communities, 18.4 per cent of the homes are screened; in the diversified crop communities 25.6 per cent; in the grain communities 31.0 per cent, and in the stock-raising communities 14.3 per cent. Neither of the two owner homes in oae of the white tenant communities has screens, while only one of the 13 owner homes in the poor land community was screened. None of the 39 tenant families living in the poor land, in one of the negro tenant, in one of the tobacco tenant, in the grain, and in the Plateau communities had their homes screened. 360 Child Welfare in Tennessee In none except the dairying and stock-raising communi- ties is there any real attempt to eliminate the breeding places of flies and mosquitoes. The unsanitary toilet, the uncovered manure pile and the slops from the kitchen door all afford excellent opportunities for these pests to thrive. Water Supply The prevailing source of water supply, especially in West Tennessee, is what is known as the bored well ; 50 per cent of the owners and 65 per cent of the tenants reported the use of this kind. The hole is about six inches across and is kept open by means of a wooden casing, presumably down to the rock, but in a great many wells going down only a few feet. The water is drawn up by hand in a long metal bucket holding from three to five gallons. Frequently there is a windlass by which the water is lifted. A few bored wells were found with pumps in them. Only occasionally does one see a cover over the top of the well. The very nature of the well's construction makes it easy for the water to become pollut-ed. The next most important source of water supply are the springs. These are found for the most part in East Ten- nessee ; 16 per cent of the owners aiid 15 per cent of the tenants reported their use. They are usually open, with no sanitary protection whatever. Pump wells were reported by 12 per cent of the owners and 9 per cent of the tenants. These are usually dug wells, the wall being built of brick or stone. This type i.=! no more sanitary than the bored well, but the pump makes it easier to get the water. Twenty per cent of the owners and 11 per cent of the tenants reported the use of cisterns, the majority of them in the tobacco-growing communities. When piroperly con- structed they probably afford the safest water supply of any found. Nine per cent of the owners, chiefly in the stock-raising communities, have water in the house. No tenants were found with this convenience. In connection with the foregoing discussion it is interest- ing to note that of the owners' homes, 116 appeared attracr Rural Life 361 tive with a home-like spirit, 35 fairly attractive and 40 poor; 38 tenant homes appeared attractive, 36 fairly so and 103 poor. The condition of many of the homes, especially of the tenants, is deplorable. In places the contrast between the owners' homes and those they provide for their tenants is so striking that one wonders how they can permt such conditions to exist. Many an owner's barn is better than the tumble-down shacks he provides for his tenants. But here again we see a result of the system — a lack of respect and understanding of each other. Owners who do S€!e the need of better conditions for their tenants reason, and with some justification, that if they did build decent houses, screen them, put up sanitary toilets and furnish a healthful water supply, it would only be a short time until everything would be in ruins ; some of them have tried it and almost invariably they have the same experience — the property is not taken care of. It is no wonder the death rate from typhoid, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases is so high. Th^ simplest precautions are ignored. Unsanitary conditions and health do not go together in the country any more than in the city. The annual wealth created on the farms of Tennessee is great, but would be much greater if the losses by reason of ill-health were prevented. Owners, to the number of 132, reported the health of their families as good, 32 as fair, and 27 poor ; 100 tenant families reported their health as good, 38 fair, and 39 poor. This study is not an attempt to get scientific data on health conditions in the country, but simply reports what the families themselves think about their health. Because of their greater resources and their higher edu- cational level, a greater responsibility rests upon the land- lords than upon the tenants for the elimination of unhealth- ful conditions. Industry has gradually come to see not only that it is responsible for providing decent and healthful liv- ing and working conditions for its employes, but also that the healthier its employes are, the greater is the financial return. This by no means excuses the tenants or relieves them of their responsibility, but the initiative will have to 362 Child Welfare in Tennessee be taken by the stronger group. The trouble now is that there are too few people, either tenants or owners in the country, who see or appreciate the importance of this mat- ter. Hence the state must step in and furnish the leader- ship. At the outset coercion will probably have to be em- ployed, but the state must have healthier citizens and there- fore should see to it that the acknowledged causes of ill- health are removed. This will necessitate the maintenance of adequate public health machinery. There should be a rural housing code. Well-drillers should be licensed by the State Board of Health and the owner iaf the well compelled to met certain minimum requirements as to depth, distance from sources of pollution, coverings, casings, etc., etc. A sanitary toilet and screens should be required for every home. The Board of Health should be given discretionary power to fix minimum requirements in rules and regulations. These measures ought not to be excessive and should go into effect gradually. At the outset they ought to apply only to new operations. RECREATION Recreation is slowly being recognized as a necessary factor in normal healthful living. For city children its im- portance has long b^en acknowledged and a great amount of money is annually spent on its organization, supply and supervision. Country parents are still too much inclined to look upon play as a mere waste of time. Milking the cows, doing the chores, hoeing, weeding, washing dishes and a thousand other tasks are of far greater importance to their minds than baJI games, swimming, boating, skating, dolls and many other wholesome pleasures. Children by nature, however, are bound to play, and rural children do play even though they must often sneak away to do so or play at their work or between tasks. Hence the play of country children, no matter how spontaneous it may be, usually lacks the advantage of intelligent leadership within the group. As they grow older their recreation tends to be a little more organized simply because they themselves are Rural Life 363 able to organize it. Adults in cities are careful to provide themselves with abundant means of recreation, but in the country they fail to recognize its importance either to them- selves or to their children. An attempt was made to learn the number of families that actively interested themselves in certain forms of recreation, the number that took trips outside their own communities and the number that had musical instruments, telephones and automobiles. Picnics By a picnic is meant any kind of entertainment con- ducted away from the home. There are usually ice cream and box suppers at the school or church house, Sunday school picnics, school entertainments and barbecues. Of the owners' families 53 per cent reported attendance at one or more picnics during the year. There is only a slight difference (2 per cent) between the families attend- ing picnics in the one-crop communities and those in diver- sified communities. Of the grain-farming owners 45.1 per cent attend as compared with 68.3 per cent of the livestock owners. The average number of tenant families attending picnics is 42 per cent of all such families visited, divided as follows : One-crop tenants 41.5 per cent; diversified crop tenants 44.2 per cent ; grain-farming tenants 44.8 per cent, and livestock tenants 42.8 per cent. Parties Parties were considered as any kind of entertainment excepting dances, conducted in the home, such as card and play parties, birthday dinners, weddings, etc. Of the owner families 42 per cent reported attendance at one or more parties during the year. Practically the same percentages held for the different types of communities as was found for picnic attendance. Only 15 per cent of tenant families reported attendance at parties. These were divided among the different types of communities as follows : One- crop, 10 per cent; diversified crops, 27.9 per cent; grain, 20.7 per cent, and live stock, 42.8 per cent. 364 Child Welfare in Tennessee B a> u u 0) u o s -5 s '3 « ■♦J e S3 ■I s s o.a 2;= ^3 6 2; ■2'g O 0} = a ■2S sajiqciuo^nv guoqdapx -ru^sui iB3isnj\[ SaOUBQ SDIUDtjJ S91IIUIBJ JO -O^ saijqoiMO^jnv auoqdapx -iu:jsui iBoisni\[ (iqo puB sj;aq^oj\[ s3ui:j93ui ailinj saouBQ SDIUDIj; O lO O rH O 'o 'O "-I t- (N CO ^ (M tH O O DO (M O Cvl CO O O CO to o o w t- O O IM ■^ O O CO tH iH Tj* CO (M lO CO CO CO lO CO O C- O i-H iH 0,0 .O. H t- tH m c- CD lo •«* o (M o CD ■* CO 00 o tH CO c- o O N O CO r-t la O i-H (M iH CO CO O CO o o O (N (M US CD 00 C] fH 00 -^ i-H CO Oi i-H ->* 00 ■^ CO -I c N O O iH O iH N CO ■* rH rH O O O ■* (N lO r-( O •M' *-l ■* 00 T-f t- CO tH r-t C- CD CO t- N CO i-H O t- t> C3 Ol O 31 ,-, iH t- o CO 03 C^ CO eq O r-l CO tH O CO 0> CO rH Tf iH X CO rt ° S 2 CO tH O IM l- th CO la t- N r< (M t- to lO CO W tH Oi lO r* lO OJ ICI N ifi lo ia 00 Tf CO 2? 5! O N C- co O CD CO -H O N 00 ■* CO ^ CO O iO saiiiuiBJ JO 'o^ (mcothcdcocjcoio ■^ ^ l-t O T-l »-* iH tH N Oa rH OS Z o u III o Ai ij -M JO .t:; u c; >> >i >, CJ u u S B S S S g B S S a a a 36 6 n -s a I 1 >> 'i &§ C4 CO 5 5 S J3 ^< « 8 I 5 J4 * 2 « fl "' 2 2 > dojD-auo AouBuax 0) 611 >- 1(1, diitsasuAiQ Rural Life 365 Dances Attendance at dances was tabulated whether conducted at home or in some public place. The number of families attending dances is very small, being only 3 per cent of the owners and 7 per cent of the tenants. All the families except two that attended dances were in the one-crop communities. Athletics By athletics is meant such games as football, baseball, basketball, meets, etc. Seventeen per cent of the owners and 18 per cent of the tenants reported attendance at one or more athletic events during the year. For both owners and tenants the attendance was slightly greater in the diversified communities than elsewhere. Public Meetings Public meetings are here considered recreation only in so far as they provide some place to go. A political speech, a lecture, or an agricultural discussion serves as the purposes of such a meeting. Forty-one per cent of the owners and 18 per cent of the tenants reported attending one or more such meetings during the year. The lowest attendance was 10.8 per cent among the one-crop tenants. The most striking point brought out by these figures is that so many families do not indulge in any of these forms of recreation. Of all the families visited 52.5 per cent do not attend picnics, 71.2 per cent do not attend parties, 95.5 per cent do not attend dances, .82.9 per cent do not attend ath- letics, and 70.4 per cent do not attend public meetings. No wonder country life is monotonous! No wonder children long for the bright lights of the city ! Where forms of recreation such as picnics, athletics and public meetings are conducted in public places there is not much difference between the attendance of owners and that of tenants, because they can go whether invited or not. On the other hand, for the forms conducted in the home, as the party, the difference is marked. Tenants and their chil- dren, as a rule, do not go to owners' homes for any recrea- tional activity nor do owners visit tenants in a social way. 366 Child Welfare in Tennessee Since the tenant's house is so small and poorly equipped, he does not invite his neighbors to his home for an evening of pleasure. Dancing in rural Tennessee is almost extinct. There are, of course, communities where it still exists, but it is generally held in bad repute ; at least, as a rule, the leading families of the community do not attend dances. Many of the older citizens speak with joy of the good old times they used to have dancing the quadrille to the music of the old-time country fiddler. The so-called "play party" is also an occasion for dancing. In this there is no instrumental music, but the couples sing as they dance. The songs are not written and the words are not the same in different communities, being often improvised. The tune, however, never changes. One community visited had this version of the "Old Man at the Mill" : "Oh, happy was the miller that was by the mill, Every time the mill turned it turned on the wheel ; One hand on the hopper, the other on the shelf — Ladies go forth, gents go back. Rain and hail, all kinds of weather. In came an old man with a big sack of leather. You'll be the reaper and I'll be the binder — Lost my true love and here I'll find her." One finds remnants of many such songs which were played, sung and danced by the older members of the com- munities when they were young. Very few of the youths of today know or understand the good times their parents used to have. The play party and the dance have been outlawed by the church. The ignorant country preacher with his narrow outlook has persistently fought these two valuable forms of amusement and at the same time has failed even to suggest anything to take their place. His attitude has been and is yet that such amusements are works of the devil and there- fore to be shunned. Undoubtedly the lack of wholesome recreational facilities has been an important factor in the Rural Life 367 development of gambling in rural districts. Two communi- ties were found in which gambling — commonly called crap shooting — ^was prevalent. In one the center of the com- munity is a country store owned and operated by a man who recently served a term in prison for bootlegging. One mother told of how this man would lend her seventeen-year- old son fifty cents with which to shoot craps and when he paid it back he was required to pay sixty cents. On the day before the writer visited this community it was said that $3,000 had changed hands in a crap game near this store. It is a sort of organized affair in which the local boys play against those from other communities. There were professionals in it, of course, and the ignorant coun- try boy proves to be an easy mark. In the other community a woman whose seventeen-year- old brother lives at her home, told of going to their bam on a recent Sunday morning, and at the point of a revolver, compelling a nunlber of young men and boys, including her husband and brpther, who had assembled there to gamble, to leave the place, for, said she, "I am not going to have my two young children constantly hearing the conversation between my husband and brother, as to how much was won and how much lost in the last crap game." These are not extreme illustrations. They can be dupli- cated in many communities. But what is to b^ expected? Nothing to do always means something to do, and if it isn't one thing it is another. It is of just as much importance to guide and safeguard the leisure time of children and young folks as it is to guide and safeguard their work-time. Not all the communities visited were like the two de- scribed. In the livestock community was found a fine illus- tration" of good recreational life — a unique institution called a "dining." When a family decides to have a dining all the neighbors, except the tenants, from adjoining and near-by farms are invited to come to its home on a certain day. A big dinner is provided and at about eleven o'clock all the members of the neighbors' families come in and the remainder of the day is given over to festivity. Each of the families in turn gives a dining. Considerable friendly rivalry exists among the women in the preparation of the 368 Child Welfare in Tennessee meal. Occasionally the young folks, if they can get out from under the watchful eye of their parents, will dance or play cards, but the sentiment is decidedly against these things. The institution is a sort of community pipe of peace. One man, when asked whether he would attend a dining to which he had been invited, if he had had any dif- ficulty with the neighbor giving it, replied, "If his wife should ask my wife to a dining we would go and that would be the end of our difficulty," Dinings usually begin about the holidays and extend throughout the winter season, but are never given on Sun- day. One man who had grown children, said his family had never eaten a Christmas dinner at home. The effect of the dinings has been to cement the community together. The people are a unit in whatever is done in the community. There is only one fault to be found with it — ^the tenants, who fortunately are few, do not take part in these affairs. In fact, the tendency for owners to have their own recrea- tion separate and apart from the tenants and vice versa, prevails in every community visited. Trips Inquiry was made as to the number of trips taken out- side the community by the fathers, and also by the mothers and children. Among the owners, 45 per cent of the fa- thers and 29 per cent of the mothers and children had been outside their own communities during the past year. Among the tenants only 19 per cent of the fathers and 66 per cent of the mothers and children had visited another community. In the one-crop communities 40.9 per cent of the owner fathers and 26.1 per cent of the mothers and children took one or more trips, as compared with 47-8 per cent of the fathers and 30.4 per cent of the mothers in. di- versified farming communities. Proportionally more of the owner parents in the livestock communities took trips outside than in the grain communities. Among the tenants in one-crop communities, 16.1 per cent of the fathers and 6.9 per cent of the mothers and chil- dren had visited another community, as compared with 27.9 per cent of the fathers and 4.6 per cent of the mothers Rural Life 369 and children m diversified farming communities. Propor^ tionally more" of the tenant families in the livestock com- munities took trips than in the grain communities. It is interesting to note that the mothers and children visit back and forth less in diversified farming communities than in one-crop communities, while the reverse is true for the fathers. Of all the families visited 68 per cent of the fa- thers and 82 per cent of the mothers and children had not been outside of their own communities on a visit during the last year. The majority of the tenants do not see another community except when they are moving to another farm, and this can hardly be called recreation. Among the ten- ants, a large part of the difference between the number of trips taken by the fathers and the number taken by the remainder of the family, is accounted for by the scouting trips taken by the father in his search for a better farm. By far the most important kind of recreation is going to the local trade center. Especially is this true in West Tennessee. The fathers usually go two or three times dur- ing the week, and on Saturday the whole family goes for the entire day. It is no uncommon sight to see the village square lined solidly witR teams and wagons from early morning until late at night. So universally do people go to town on Saturday that the writer found it useless to try to fill any schedule on that day. This custom has grown out of the tenancy system. Both owners and tenants go to town to^get their week's supplies and to transact business. It matters not what the season of the year is, whether their crops need attention or not, when Saturday comes they go to town. In one community even the owners leave their work and go to the village to watch the train come in. It would be far better if some wholesome means of general recreation were provided for their benefit in these villages. Musical Instruments In the one-crop communities 43.2 per cent of the owners and in diversified farming communities 58.7 per cent have some kind of musical instrument. The livestock owners are better off in this respect than the grain farm owners. In the one-crop communities 20 per cent of the tenants 370 Child Welfake in Tennessee as compared with 25.5 per cent in the divergified farming communities, have musical instruments. As between the tenants in livestock and grain farming communities the re- verse of what was found for owners under these two types of farming was found, for only 7.1 per cent of livestock tenants have musical instruments, while 34.5 per cent of the grain farming tenants have one or more. Telephones In the one-crop communities 44.3 per cent of the owners have telephones, while 65.2 per cent in the diversified farm- ing communities have them. As between the owners in live- stock communities and those in the grain farming communi- ties, the difference is greater with reference to musical in- struments. In the former 73.1 per cent of the owners have telephones, while 58.8 per cent of the latter have them. As regards the tenants in one-crop communities, only 6.9 per cent have them, while 16.3 per cent of those in the diversified farming communities are so provided. The dif- ference is slight between grain farming tenants and live- stock tenants. Automobiles ■« In one-crop communities 38;6 per cent of the owners have automobiles as compared with 48.9 per cent in diver- sified farming communities. Among the livestock owners 53.6 per cent have them as compared with 45.1 per cent of the grain farm owners. Of the tenants in one-crop com- munities, 12.3 per cent have automobiles as compared with 5.9 per cent in diversified farming communities. Thus we find that 51 per cent of the owners have musical instruments, 55 per cent have telephones and 4.2 per cent have automobiles, while of the tenants 22 per cent have musical instruments, 10 per cent telephones and 11 per cent automobiles. A number of negro tenants said they were not permitted to have telephones. More tenants in the one-crop communi- ties had automobiles than had telephones. If by any chance, after the claims of the landlord or merchant or both, are met, they should have any money left, the industrious auto- mobile agent is on the job to sell them a second-hand car. Rural Life 371 Reading Material The situation with reference to reading material is little if any better than that found for recreation, as the table on the following page indicates. Books The owners in the one-crop communities have an aver- age of 21 books per family as compared with '50 per family in the diversified farming communities. The grain farm owners have an average of 31 books per family as com- pared with 74 per family for the livestock owners. Twenty- six families in the one-crop communities and 10 in the di- versified crop communities said they had no books at all. The average per tenant family in the one-crop com- munities is slightly less than 6 and in the diversified crop communities it is 3.3. There are 60 one-crop families out of 129, and 15 diversified crop families out of 43, that said they had no books at all. Newspapers, Farm and Current Magazines . In the one-crop communities the owners have an aver- age of 1.07 newspapers, .90 farm magazines and .61 current magazines per family, while those in the diversified farming communities averaged 1.17 newspapers, 1.63 farm papers, and 1.20 current magazines per family. There is very little difference in the number of newspapers taken but the latter take nearly twice as many farm and current magazines as the former do. The livestock owners take more farm and current magazines but fewer newspapers than the grain farm owners. In the one-crop communities the tenants have an average of .27 newspapers, .38 farm papers and .13 current magazines per family, while those in the diver- sified communities have .44 newspapers, .32 farm papers and ^30 current magazines per family. The livestock ten- ants have considerably fewer newspapers and current mag- azines but slightly more farm papers. The contrast between owners and tenants is very sharp. The former average 34 books per family; 38 of the 184 owner families said they had none at all. The tenants have an average of only 5 books per family and 77 out of the 176 tenant families said they had none at all. The situation 872 Child Welfare in Tennessee M C ■*j ns S u 0) o o •^ CO S ^ u e • FN 3U0U 3UIABH sajnwiBia: 'ON 's9Uizb3biu :^u^a.inD 'Of^ auou 3UIABX1 satijuiM ""N auou 3UIABH yjodEd'sMaN •ojsi S9inw-Bj[ -OJSI 9U0U SuiABq sainui^Lil 'ON SJioog -ON 9U0U SuiABq sajnwiBLi 'ON S9U1ZB3BUI :jU9jit\o "ON 9U0U SuiABq S9tIIlU-B^J -ON 9U0U SUIABII s9im«'B^3; "o^ sainwi'Bii "ON 9U0U SULA-Bq FJloog "ON S9lIIUl'B^J 'O^ iH rH r-l 1-1 iH rH ""I ■<*Mi-IOOCO«DOO°2 iH tH iH i-l " (M iH tH tH t-H *"' 0> ^ C/) f- "* C3 {M (N rH iH (M iH =^ 00 o Til to O O c- to N O rH ■<1< 05 05 O O CO M (N rH N •* eo O rH CO OS eo rH 50 t- Ti -* 00 CO lO o to ja tc 1-* rH ■* rH rH M o o o to 00 CO CO ^ •N rH 00 y-A ;0 co re c^ rH rH ■N'rH- OS eo IQ T)l •* lO OS CO lO rH rH to N rH .S "3 & •a a a a 3 O rH IN rH m a a u 3 a 3 "S s « &i5 1 ■B^ O O O J Q ^ UOI^BOyiSlSAIQ „ o > Rural Life 373 is nearly as bad with reference to newspapers, farm and current magazines; owners have an average of 1.13 news- papers per family, tenants .32; owners 1.26 farm papers, tenants .37; owners .91 current magazines, tenants .19 per family. Out of the 191 owner families and 177 tenant families 37 owners and 133 tenants said they took no news- papers; 80 owners and 126 tenants no farm papers; and 111 owners and 153 tenants no current magazines. These figures speak for themselves. The farm people simply do not read — many of them cannot. The most striking point in the evidence presented in the foregoing tables is the wide difference in conditions surrounding the lives of owners' children and tenants' chil- dren. Owners have nearly three times as large an income as tenants, although the families are practically the same size. Owner children are not kept out of school to work on the farm as tenant children are. Tenants move about much more, hence they do not have the comforts and con- veniences in their homes that they might have if their, tenure were longer. Because of the system, tenants are forced to borrow at high interest rates and are thus re- stricted in the manner in which they may purchase their supplies and dispose of their crops. They get a good deal less from the farm for their tables than owners do, Their water supply is less protected. Fewer of their homes have screens and toilets. Their opportunities for recreation are more limited. They read less because they have less to read. The opportunity that tenants' children have for educa- tion, health, recreation and the enjoyment of a normal childhood, is limited. The evidence shows that many of the economic factors which enter into conditions surrounding their lives are below a minimum standard for decent liv- ing. This ought not to be for any group of people. Ac- cording to the 1910 census, tenants comprise a little more than 41 per cent of the rural population of Tennessee. 374 Child Welfare in Tennessee Hence, the problem of giving tenant children their inherent rights is serious, not only because of the extremely bad con- ditions under which they are living, but also because of the large number involved. These children ought to have a better chance. CHAPTER VI. CHILD LABOR BY MARY HOLLIDAY MITCHELL Work is good for a child when it is suited to him, but work that does not train is injurious. It is not necessary to show the people of Tennessee that their children are working. Most of them are glad to have them work. But it is necessary to show them that the work the children are doing is child labor. There is a vast difference between children's work and child labor. The one is education, the other is exploitation. Tennessee cannot afford to jeopardize her furture by allow- ing 29 per cent of her children to go to work before they are sixteen, the figure reported by the census of 1910. Many of them left school when in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades, and have no mental training with which to meet the exigen- cies of industrial life. Perhaps a widowed mother may need her child's earn- ings, and in such a case, her need would seem to justify his going to work. But something else must be considered — nothing is known of the child's physical condition. Suppose he finds a job that is a constant drain upon some weak organ ? — soon he may be a burden rather than a support to his poor mother, whereas with a little supervision a suitable job might have been found for him. The secretary of one of the large charity associations of the state told the writer, and her statement was corroborated by five other social workers, that children who go to work at 14 often need financial aid by the time they are 30, because of physical disability. Then, too, it has been found that the work a boy does before he is 16 is often a handicap to his future earn- ing capacity because it is not work that trains him. Such hazards to physical and mental equipment are too great to 376 Child Welfare in Tennessee be risked. At present the state is indifferent to the question of the working child. For this study thirteen cities were visited: Bristol, Chattanooga, Clinton, Daisy, Erwin, Jackson, Johnson City, Jonesboro, Knoxville, Loudon, Memphis, Murfreesboro and Nashville. Information was obtained by other members of the- staff and from other sources regarding conditions in seventeen other cities. The superintendents of schools of forty-seven counties were either interviewed or answered a questionnaire. From the information thus gathered one fact is outstanding: the people of Tennessee do not know the conditions in their own communities. When a child leaves school to go to work no public agency takes an inter- est in him personally, nor in his future welfare. Hitherto the school had been a second parent to him; now he may change jobs frequently, be idle for long .periods, or do him- self lasting injury and, so long as he keeps out of the courts, no one pays any attention to him. Usually he drifts from job to job, sometimes leaving a good one for a poor one because of some trifling, passing discontent, there is no incentive for him to stick to on6 job because he is learning something that will lead to his advancement. Most of the jobs he can secure are blind-alley jobs which do not fit him for better positions. In one of the four largest cities three members of the executive board of the Parent-Teachers' Association, when asked about the newsboy situation, frankly said that they knew little about it — they were not down town late at night, or early in the morning, or in very bad weather to see the worst side of the work. Selling newspapers, one would think, would be a matter of concern to parents and teach- ers because even the youngest children sell. The only work- ing children younger than newsboys found by the investi- gators were supposedly attending a Nashville kindergarten. In the spring of 1920 there were so many absences day after day that the teachers inquired about it and found that these youngsters — all under 6 — were riding on huckster wagons as "barkers." For this they received 5 cents an hour. One Saturday night, two little boys were selling papers Child Labor 377 in the lobby of a Nashville hotel at 9 P.M. Johnnie was 71/2 years old and Frank 5. They had been down town all day. For lunch and supper they had gone to a restaurant, buying sandwiches and pickles. When asked what their mothers would say to their being out so late, they replied cheerfully, "Oh, they don't care." Monday morning at school Johnnie was asked what time he went home the Sat- urday night before. "We didn't go home until after eleven." The newsboy is on the street for long hours, dur- ing some of which he works at top speed, while at other times he has scarcely anything to do. This tends to a condition of excessive fatigue, with intervals of loafing which afford opportunity for getting into all sorts of mischief. The life is one of irregular sleep and irregular hours. A truancy officer told of a boy whom he could not catch ; his mother worked during the daytime, often going to bed before her son came home at night, and in the morning he would be gone before she awakened. The boys who sell the morning papers rise early, at 4 or 5 o'clock. Henry, who is 10 years old and in the 2A grade at school, rises every morning at 3 o'clock and sells papers until school time; he is small for his age and pale. Exposure to bad weather is another evil in selling news- papers. The best boys are the ones the newspapers can count on for coming for their papers in all weathers and they are given the preference in every way at the office as an incentive to keep them at work. Last winter in Nash- ville a little boy with just one leg might be seen sitting on the cold pavement on Church Street until 9, 10 or 11 o'clock. Sometimes he could not keep his eyes open and fell asleep leaning against a cold building. Of course, he was using his handicap to gain sympathy. He made himself ap- pear as "miserable as possible. He was really begging and some other means of support should have been found to take him off the streets. In Tennessee the findings of other states and other coun- tries upon this subject have not been considered seriously. That the newsboys might be replaced by men and women incapacitated for more regular forms of employment, or else by news-stands operated by older persons seems to have 378 Child Welfare in Tennessee occurred to no one, unless to the factory inspectors, who have done their best to arouse the state to the evils of the situation. In their report for 1918 this paragraph appears : "One of the difficulties in the way of strict enforcement of the Child Labor Laws is the lack of restriction as regards newsboys. They are not included in the class of occupa- tions prohibited, and as a result, we find on the streets of the cities large numbers of boys under 14 years of age — many as young as 10, 9 and often 6 years — employed in selling newspapers. There have been occasions when boys who were forced out of the workshops under the law took to the greater moral and physical hazard of the streets as newsboys." The newspapers alone supervise the newsboys in any way. In Memphis and Chattanooga, the street comers are given to certain boys, and others are not allowed to sell there. At a few designated places boys who have no assigned corners may sell. An older boy supervises the younger ones, quelling incipient fights and keeping the sales going. Nashville has no such system, and there is much irregu- larity in selling, the boys often wandering for many squares. It is a common belief in Tennessee that children are working to support widowed mothers. Concerning 158 children under 16 years of age, many of them newsboys, the following facts were found: In school Not in now. school. Both parents dead Father dead 23 3 Mother dead 8 1 Both parents living 113 10 Total 144 14 Since both parents are living in such a large majority of cases it should not be necessary for the children to work. In cases where the father is dead it would be better to have a mother's pension. Child Labor 379 By the time the hoy is 11, 12 or 13 years old he may become tired of selhng newspapers and wish to take up other worlc. There are various johs oRen to boys of these ages, although it should be contrary to the law to employ them, as no child under 14 should be legally employed ex- cept in agricultural or domestic service. From 14 to 16 in order to work, a boy must have a permit from the county superintendent of schools. Almost all of the county super- intendents interpret this to mean that the child must have a permit if he is working all the time, but that he does nrjt need one if he is working after school. In this way, many of the younger boys find jobs and no questions are asked about their ages. Parents, teachers and superintendents favor such work. Its harmful aspects are passed over lightly because little is known of the conditions. Many boys instead of selling on the corners now deliver papers on routes; after school, they go down to the news office, get their papers and deliver them to regular customers. The whole process takes from one to two hours. Saturday morning they collect the money for their papers. The newspapers consider these boys in a difl^erent class from the boys selling on the street. Only reliable boys are trusted with routes and there is not the same danger of their be- coming tough through hanging around the streets. But there are two dangers to be guarded against — one that the route may be through an undesirable quarter of the city and the other that the bag of papers he carries may be too heavy for him and overtax his strength. Some newspapers try to limit their deliveries to from 30 to 50 for each boy but often this is not a convenient arrangement. Frank carries 75; Jim, who is small and pale, although 13 years old, carries 77 papers; Ned has 101. Longer routes are often sub-let by men or older boys to the younger boys. When extra supplements come out, it is particularly hard work for boys. Boys of 11, 12 and 13 often become delivery boys for grocery stores or drug stores. Robert, for instance, who is 12 years old and in the 4th grade at school, rides on a grocery wagon on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. For this 380 Child Welfare in Tennessee 11-hour day he receives $1. Bud, also 12 and in the 4th grade, rides on a wagon from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., receiving $1. Dick, besides carrying papers, dehvers groceries, work- ing after school from 5:30 to 6:30; on Saturdays he works from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sundays from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Jake works in his uncle's store as a clerk at $5 a week ; he is 12 and in the 5th grade. He is in the store from 7 :30 to 8 :30 a.m., then goes to school and works again in the evening from 3 :30 to 7 :00 p.m. ; on Saturdays he works from 7 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m., making altogether, including the hours he spends in school, a 12-hour day — of course, he is sleepy and tired in school. A few boys deliver for de- partment stores, working two or three hours after school and eight hours on Saturdays. But most of the larger de- partment stores will not employ a boy until he is 14. One little fellow of 11 was found delivering drugs for a drug store at 10 o'clock at night. In one of the smaller towns a boy of 12, who is almost blind, is wiping dishes in his grandfather's restaurant ; he has a venereal disease but noth- . ing is deing done for him and no pretense is made of sending him to school. George who is 13 and in the 5b grade at school, works in his father's restaurant three hours every evening and 11 or 12 hours on Saturday; he has done this since he was 10. Maggie, 11 years old, on Saturday works for her grandfather in the market house for 13 or 14 hours. Bert, who is 12, works in the market on Saturday IIV2 hours, and Charles, 13, works 13 hours in the market house. The foregoing statements relate to white children only. Negroes. The situation among the negroes is different and more aggravated. Throughout the state the sentiment is in favor of negro children's working. Many small colored children are employed in domestic service, the girls as nurse-girls, the boys as chore-boys. Jennie, 9 years old, goes to school ; she is in the 4th grade, and works for a family helping the cook and cleaning from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and from 4 to 6 p.m. daily, and Sat- urdays from 8 a.m. to noon and from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from 10 to 11 a.m. For these long hours Child Labor 381 she receives $1 a week. A boy of 13, doing housework and going to school, works four hours after school daily, 12 hours . on Saturday and IOI/2 hours on Sunday. No law governs such work, except the law of public opinion. Because the schools are overcrowded and because there are so few colored at- tendance officers, little effort is made to keep colored chil- dren in school. To be a regular attendant at school shows considerable perseverance and ambition on the part of a colored child. Many school boys are caddies. They begin this work as young as 9 years old. After school and on Saturdays and Sundays they go out to the golf club, re- maining until dark. There is much irregularity about this work. The best thing that can be said for it is that it keeps the children off the streets and out of doors, but it leads nowhere. A few colored boys at 9 years of age begin shin- ing shoes, but 11 is the usual age for entering a shine par- lor. Here their hours are long — from ly^ to 4 hours after school for the smaller boys with 12 hours on Saturday and sometimes as many on Sunday. But many parlors close at noon on Sunday, giving the children a shorter day. The work is fatiguing and the boys' school work suffers in con- sequence. The physical strain can not be accurately meas- ured. Jim, who is 12 years old and in the 4th grade, works every day from 4 to 7 p.m., on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dick, who is 11 and in the 4th grade, works four hours after school and 13 hours on Saturday, but has no Sunday work. John works three hours after school, 13 hours on Saturday and loy^ hours on Sunday. Many negro boys are used on delivery wagons. Some of these work after school, but the majority do not attend school at all. Sometimes heavy lifting and long hours are involved in this work, but the greatest drawback is that it keeps the boys out of school. A few work as clerks in stores, but these are usually boys over 14. White Boys Between 14 and 16 Years Old . When a boy is 14 years old, according to the child labor law, it is legal for him to go to work provided he has a work permit from the county superintendent of schools. Many 382 Child Welfare in Tennessee boys of this age are working after school, just as the young- er ones are, without permits. In the smaller stores many are working full time without permits. Factories, large department stores, and messenger services are in general careful about keeping on file the work permits of their em- ployees between the ages of 14 and 16. In these larger establishments some glaring violations may be found, but not the utter disregard for the law that exists in the smaller places. The jobs for boys 14 to 16 years old are much the same as for- the younger boys. They are not educative. The manager of a large department store said that he pre- ferred to have boys under 16 for rush orders, because they enjoy riding on the street cars and finding addresses, and are quick and smart, whereas the older boys think such work a little beneath their dignity.' The latter prefer jobs inside the store. Sometimes during the rush season delivery work keeps the iboys out late at night, but usually their day is the legal eight-hour day. The department stores also use boys and girls inside the stores as wrappers ; here they are shut away from the light and air and again such work leads nowhere. Even if they remain in the store and become salespeople, their wages are not high, and they do not be- come heads of departments. Other occupations for boys of this age may be grouped as miscellaneous. A few are working in garages. Ed, who is 14 and in the 6th grade at school, works six hours in a garage every day in the week. Louis is an office boy, work- ing nine hours a day and going to night school. Clarence, 15, works at a feed store Sy^ hours after school and 10 hours on Saturdays. Two boys, 14 years old, are ushers in theatres; one works' two hours after school and nine hours on Saturdays; the other, employed at a larger theatre, works 8 14 hours every day and goes to school, and 10 1-2 hours on Saturdays. Another occupation, hazardous not only to the child but to the public, is that of elevator service. Frank is a big, overgrown boy, a repeater; in the 7A grade; although not yet 15, he went to work running an elevator at $15 a week His father and mother wished him to continue his educa- Child Labor 383 tion, so in the morning he goes to a business college at 8 a.m., running the elevator from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. With the small force now working in the Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspection it is impossible to keep track of such work as this. Drug store boys are commonly overworked. "I would as soon have my boy work in a saloon as in a drug store," said a school principal. Usually when a boy begins to work in a drug store, he loses interest in school, falling farther and farther behind in his work. He changes jobs three or four times, and then drops out of school. His late hours at the drug store often put him in touch with a tough crowd. A teacher said, "Boys working at the soda fountain from 5 to 10 p.m. cannot learn next day at school. They are too tired. The glamour, the lights, the distractioi>, the people, wear them out and take their minds off their school work." Is it a surprise when you see schedules of hours such as this : Week days 4 p.m. to 11 :30 or 12 p.m. Saturdays 11 a.m. to 11:30 or 12 p.m. Sundays 11 a.m. to 11 :30 or 12 p.m. These were Diick's hours, for which he received 50 cents a night and tips. On Sunday he made from $3 to $5. Frank, a small, pale boy, seen at 9 :30 p.m. working in a drug store in a small town, says he is 14 . When questioned a little he said, "A boy does not have to have a permit when he is 14 years old." As a rule employers do not hire girls under 16 to work at soda fountains, but many misrepresent their ages. When so employed they usually finish work at 10 or 11 p.m. Social workers throughout the state who are conversant with the situation are becoming more and more anxious about these girls. In one comparatively small town, taxi drivers hang around to take them home. With the scarcity of truancy officers and factory inspectors it is impossible to make sure that these girls have reached the legal age of 16 for night work — a dangerous age for girls to be abroad at night. None of these girls go to school. 384 Child Welfare in Tennessee Messengers. Another form of night work of great danger to boys in the city is messenger service. Bill, 14, goes to school and works as a messenger six hours every day, even Sundays, and has no permit. In another city James, 15, goes to school and works eight hours for the company; his work permit has been left at his former employer's. Sam, 15, is working nine hours a day and going to night school. Messenger service at night exposes boys to risks pecu- liar to the conditions that obtain in cities at late hours. Ac- cording to the law, boys under 16 must not work after 7 p.m., but many pretend to be 16 and managers, pressed for help as they sometimes are, fail to make proper inquiry. A number of boys were found working at 9 at night without permits. Ii^ one town a boy, 14 years old, works from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. In another city a mother said that the com- pany had tried frequently to get her boy of 15 to work at night, they were so short-handed. Factories. The Tennessee child labor law was passed for the most part in 1911. At that time many young children worked in mills. Now that has been changed, and most mills are careful not to employ children under 14, and to keep on file the work permit for each child under 16. Many factories employ no children under 16. Textile mills employ the great majority of children from the age of 14 to 16 working in factories. A few children are found in chair factories, and some boys in foundries and cigar box factories. No united stand has been taken by the emiploy- ers, but the general sentiment of the manufacturers of Ten- nessee, according to the President of the Manufacturers' Association, is against employing children under 16. Where they are being employed, the managers as a rule are careful to comply with the law, and to co-operate with the state fac- tory inspector. Violations occur through parents misrepre- senting their children's ages or through indifference to and disregard to the law on the part of a few managers. The Federal law with its tax of 10 per cent on the net annual Child Labor 385 profits, provides too severe a penalty for many managers to risk violating it. An example in point is one case in an outlying district where a pottery and silk mill employed children under 14 with no permits, the managers knew the law but in their desire to secure help made no effort to ascertain the ages of these children. In some cases managers employ children under 14 with the sanction of the county superintendent of schools in order that they may help support widowed mothers. In such cases the state is at fault for allowing young children to bear the burden of family support. A mother's pension would relieve this situation and an added force in the State Labor Department would largely prevent such flagrant viola- tions of the law. Negroes 14 to 16. In a survey made in Knoxville of its boys 10 to 20 years old, it was found that 94 per cent of the negro boys attend- ing high school were working. The majority are caddies, bootblacks, porters and delivery boys. A few work in foundries where there is a chance for them to rise to re- sponsible positions, but the work is very heavy. A com- munity which is trying to assist the negroes should see that the state child labor law is enforced for the colored children as well as for the white, especially in the matter of work hours, the provisions relating to which are commonly dis- regarded. The following cases show something of the hours of these colored children and it must be remembered tjiat these are the persevering ones who stay in school and there- fore have shorter hours than many of the others who work full time : 386 Child Welfare in Tennessee S ^ S 5 ^ ,s s cj CS C4 p, 1 1 °s !p< p. £ IN (M IN N 1 1 °° lO iH rH ■^B 2 S S 1 13 5 5 w s s s s 1 i S s s ^ Si d Si 1 1 °i p< l« [- t- 03 05 1 1 to o to M IN s s s s s i s i i p, (i ft p- p< ^ ii, O ^ ,-< Oi r-l p. C5 Pi P< IN 00 lO T-l g rt --1 ^ rt -H T— t g-S-SS-g^-SS^^S ^ 1 S S S H S s s s s C/^ cd cj C^' C0 ctf 0! at P< OS t- O O 03 O t- CD o «o CO CO M I> CD IN „ s s s s s i s n s ^ p, p, p. p, p, p. ci p< p. c3 CO OS 00 t- t- lO 00 lO rH Q tH ^55555 O o O o -W 43 -p -S 1 s s; s s s l> p, p( p. p, p, S £ e s P. d P!< P< OS o o eg ■<* o to O Tt ec ro cc CO j^OOlotot-OOoi O •-S A« O o M M M -a u u u n rt rt « .^ Z 2 2 V ^ 7J ^ ^ O O O h C4 OOP n BQ n 0) p a u O a P s M O PQ Child Labor 387 Juvenile Delinquency. "Contrary to the popular id«a that work keeps chil- dren out of mischief," the Federal report on juvenile de- linquency and employment in the 8th volume of the "Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage-Earners in the United States" transmitted to the United States Senate in 1910, shows that among working children, both boys and girls, there is a greater tendency than among non-workers "to go wrong and keep on going wrong after the start has once been made." It is generally considered more serious for the child to repeat an offense than to be brought into court just once, even if the one offense is of a serious char- acter. The following table taken from the Federal report will give an idea of the number of offenses of working and non- working children: Working Non-working Children. Children. No. Per Cent. No. Per Cent. First offenders 1,316 47.6 1,319 63.6 Recidivists (repeaters) 1,451 52.4 753 36.4 Total 2,767 100.0 2,072 100.0 "The proportion of recidivism is also large among those who are working while attending school, and the numbers here are very much larger than one would wish to see." From a study of the records of delinquent children brought before the Manhattan Branch of the Children's Court during 1916 it was ascertained by Mabel Brown Ellis that "the working boys contribute at least twice and prob- ably four times their share of the total" (of delinquency) . . . . Among the girls the working group leads both in absolute number and in proportion. . . . Percentage of recidivism among working boys, 43. . . . Among non- working boys, 28." Girls are brought into court only for serious offenses and this partly accounts for the small per cent of recidivists among them — 10. per cent. These general studies are quoted because it was impos- sible to obtain such information from the records of the Juvenile Courts in Tennessee. The Memphis Court is the only one which shows clearly whether the child is employed 388 Child Welfare in Tennessee or not and what his occuaption is. A few instances from its records will illustrate the direct relation between delin- quency and occupation : Race. In School Now. Age. Grade. Out of School Now. Work. Negro . ...15 5 Shoe store. Negro . ...14 4 Drug store. Negro . ...15 Book company. Negro . ...15 6 White . White . Negro . ...15 ...14 ...16 7 5 Selling news- papers. Hotel. Drug store. Negro White White Negro 13 Negro . . Negro . .. 15 .. 12 Negro . . .. 14 Negro . . .. 13 White . .. 15 White .. . . .-. White . .. 15 15 15 14 Delivery. 4 Tire company. 8 Chauffeur. 3 Shine parlor. 1 Shine parlor. 11 Drove truck for department store. . . Selling news- papers. . . Delivery. 7 Drug store. 6 Western Union. 2 Coal company. Oifense. Stole shoes from employer. Stole perfumery from employer. Stole books from employer. Stole socks from his employer. Swearing. Larceny. Forged name of employer. Later stole brooms from the firm which employed him. Stole groceries from employer. Reckless driving. Stole from em- ployer. Fight in place of employment. Fight in place of employment. Reckless driving. Sold regular pa- per as an exfra. Passed street car in auto while street car was standing still. Stole watch and money from employer. Gaming. Stole ring while deliverins coal Summary . To sum up some of the things we have found in the fore- going sections, from numerous incidents of children in differ- ent kinds of work, may clarify the subject at this point. A Child Labor 389 few girls and many boys, both white and colored, under 14 years of age, are working unlawfully. Newsboys and boot- blacks are controlled by no law. Many boys 14 to 16 years of age are working unlawfully without permits. In almost every instance the school work of children attending school and working, suffers, either because the children are tired when they come to school or because they are more in- terested in their work than in their studies. The work at which the great majority of children are engaged does not train them for advancement. It may be too great a strain upon thir growing minds and bodies. The logical way to remdy such conditions for the adolescent worker is to im- prove the state child labor law and to see that it is properly enforced. The first thing to consider in relation to such a law is the issuance of work permits. Work Permits . A boy of 14 years appeared with his mother at the office of the county superintendent of schools. "I want a work permit." "All right!" replied the bookkeeper. "How old are you?" "Fourteen." "What is your proof of age?" "I have an insurance policy." "Let me see it." Then, "Sign your name here. Here's your permit." This is the care the state takes to protect its children who seek to go to work for their living between the ages of 14 and 16. The law does not permit children to work under 14, but this permit, which has no physical require- ment and no educational requirement, and no assurance that the child has a job suitable for him, affords but little protection to the child entering industry. Some children are not even asked to sign their names. One mother wanted her boy to work because he was too delicate to go to school. A physician sent a note to one school saying the eyes of a little girl were in such bad condition that she should not be in school ; with his sanction she obtained a permit and went to work. A 13-year-old tuberculous boy was excluded from 390 Child Welfare in Tennessee the schools because he was too ill to attend, but he obtained work at a lumber company, working eight hours a day. The advantage of this permit is that it is accepted by the Federal Government and will be so accepted until Novem- ber, 1920, at any rate. Therefore it is a protection to em- ployers in reference to the Federal child labor law. The formality of getting such a document keeps a few children from going to work at 14 who otherwise might have done so. Its chief value at present is that the same blank form provided by the Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspec- tion is used throughout the state, thus insuring uniformity in enforcing the law. Of course, violations occur, and per- mits which have no legal standing are issued, such as the following : CITY HIGH SCHOOL. To Whom Concerned: This will authorize you to employ , a pupil of the School, outside of school hours and on Saturdays. So far as the demands of the School Laws are concerned, so long as this boy is regular in school Truancy Officers are not to interfere. Supt. City Schools. In one mill the forewoman engaged the employees on her floor. The manager told her not to employ any chil- dren under 14 and to get permits from the school for all those between the ages of 14 and 16. This is the permit she secured for the first child: "Dear Madam : "This is the privilege that , one of my school pujpils, is permitted to work of a morning and go to school in the afternoon, hoping he can be of good help to you, I am, "Yours truly. "Teacher 6f Grade." Child Labor 391 The only requirement in the law for the issuance of a permit is proof of age. This may consist of a birth certifi- cate; but birth registration is so recent in Tennessee that few children now going to work have certificates. A cer- tificate of baptism may be used but it, too, is rare in Ten- nessee. A Bible record is next accepted as, proof of age, and many children use this. Then a certificate of confirma- tion, a passport, or an insurance policy is valid; the first two are seldom produced. Insurance policies, in order to be valid for proof of age, must be over one year old ; in one of the four large cities of the state this requirement was not understood, and in another is was disregarded, as shown below : Policy Issued: Permit Issued: February 24, 1919. April 16, 1919. April 10, 1918. February 17, 1919. April 22, 1918. February 11, 1919. September 30, 1918. February 10, 1919. September 26, 1918. January 30, 1919. December 9, 1918. January 27, 1919. September 9, 1918. January 8, 1919. The last proof of age valid under the law is a certificate signed by two physicians, one of whom must be a public health official. This is used a great deal, but county super- intendents, physicians and welfare workers agree that it is unsatisfactory. It is impossible to gauge accurately in the present development of medical science the age of any person, and therefore, the doctor's estimate of a child's age is merely an opinion — but his opinion is really all that the law requires. In many instances two private physicians sign the certificate, in other cases only one doctor signs, sometimes a public health official, sometimes a private phy- sician. The examination itself amounts to nothing; some- times the physician does not even look at the child. Un- fortunately it seems necessary to leave this requirement in the law, but issuing officers should insist upon other proof of age before accepting a doctor's certificate. Great laxity in the issuance of work permits has come 392 Child Welfare in Tennessee about through two causes. First, the county superintendent who is authorized by law to issue permits is too busy to attend to the issuance himself. Second, no appropriation has been granted for help in performing this duty, and superinten- dents, being uninterested, feel that it involves too much work. County and city superintendents are not familiar with the procedure of issuing work permits in other states. They have neither had the time nor the inclination to study the question. Some of the most intelligent ones do not even know the laws of their own state. A boy under 16 years of age applied for a work permit; he was well-grown and in the seventh grade in school, and wished to work from 4 to 11 p.m. in a glass factory. The city superintendent thought the boy showed a fine spirit and did not know that such work was prohibited by both the state and federal laws. The county superintendent may authorize others to issue permits for him. Sometimes he authorizes the city super- intendent of schools, but the law does not. compel the city superintendent to accept this responsibility if he does not wish to do so. In Memphis and Nashville, the city super- intendents, because of their many other duties, have re- fused to issue the work permits. The county superin- tendent is out of his office so much that he usually turns over this task to his bookkeeper, who has no interest in keeping the child in school, and no time to investigate the case, and therefore issues the permit perfunctorily. In Memphis, if there is doubt as to the age of the child, he is sent with his permit to the deputy factory inspector for approval of the permit; but this is not entirely satisfactory because the factory inspector has so much other work to do that he cannot make the proper investigation in all such instances. A strange case arose in another city: a child under age had been granted a permit under the belief that he was 14 ; later it was proved that at the time the permit was issued he was not 14, although at the time of the in- vestigation he had passed his 14th birthday. He returned to the office from which he obtained the permit and this time the superintendent himself took the matter up. He denied the boy a permit because he could not write his own name. Child Labor 393 Besides the county superintendent, his bookkeeper, or the city superintendent, in a few cases, a representative at a factory has been designated to issue permits. Danger may be involved here in that such a representative may be primarily interested in securing employees for his factory rather than in the welfare of the child. A few of these representatives, however, are careful to make some inquiry into the child's age before issuing the permit. One gross abuse has been reported in the case of a Justice of the Peace who was connected with a factory which paid him to secure children as workers. He told the mothers aiid fath&rs that they were not swearing falsely when they misrepresented their children's ages, and in this way he induced them to sign false statements. In a few places Justices of the Peace have been desig- nated to issue work permits. As a rule, they charge the child 25 cents, 50 cents, or 75 cents for a permit. These magistrates make no investigation and ask no questions about the child's schooling. They may accept a leaf torn out of a book as a true Bible record of age. Sometimes a parent's affidavit is accepted as sufficient proof. A father came with two little boys to one Justice of the Peace, saying they were 15 and 13 years of age, and asked for permits. The Justice said he could not issue a permit to a child under 14, whereupon the father said, "Oh, give it to him now, and he won't use it until he is 14," and the Justice complied. From this brief account it is easy to see that such a per- mit is not only of little value, but there is also another fea- ture which in the long run works harm to the child. The per- mit is supposed to be issued in duplicate ; the original is given to the child, and the duplicate is kept in the issuing office. Since the child handles his own permit, and takes it with him with every change of job, he may be out of ^ork for long pe- riods, doing nothing, and there is no way to check him up. If the truancy officer inquires about him he says he has his per- mit and is looking for a job. He may look for weeks in a half-hearted fashion, spending most of his time in idleness. There is no way to keep him in school or to keep him at work. To remedy this, the child should never handle his 394 Child Welfare in Tennessee own permit — it should be sent to his employer to Insure his having a job in the first place, and upon the child's quitting work, the employer should return it to the issuing office. Then the truancy officer can be notified and the child re- turned to school or to work. Often the permit is not issued in duplicate and no record is kept by the issuing officer of the number he has issued during the year. In the report of the Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspection for 1918, a list of the county superintendents and the number of permits they had issued was published, but because of lack of funds the report for 1919 does not contain such a list. Since the county superintendents were not asked for a report in 1919 they did. not check over the permits issued and had no idea how nJny had been granted during that year. Some superintendents issue a great many permits, as in Lincoln County, where the superintendent issues them for limited periods, even to children who are out of school for three days picking cotton. Other superintendents issue them for the vacation period with a stamp across the front marked valid until such and such a date, the date being that on which school begins. We have already mentioned the attempt Memphis makes to investigate its cases. Nashville makes no investigations. The superintendent of Hamilton County and the city super- intendent of Chattanooga are interested in the subject and would like to make better investigations than they are now doing. Knoxville has one of its truancy officers investi- gate its cases. The most thorough investigation is being made in Morristown by the city superintendent. The per- mits are issued on the regular blank form but of three classes : 1. For full time work. The permit must be renewed at the end of the school year. 2. For part time work. Either one-half day or two hours at least must be spent in school. 3. Permits are also issued for vacation. They must be returned when school opens. Formerly the Red Cross worker investigated the cases Child Labor 395 and made recommendations. In April, 1920, a new worker had just come to Morristown and had not yet begun to do this, but expected to include it with other duties. Misrepresentation of Age . We have. seen that there is not enough care taken to ascertain age when a child applies for a work permit. Often the parents and children purposely deceive. An agent of the government in Tennessee found it necessary to cancel a number of permits because of misrepresentation of age. If this failure to ascertain the real age of applicants for permits continues, the Federal recognition of the state permit may be withdrawn. One boy known to the Associated Charities bemoans the fact that he cannot get a permit because he is only 13, while his friends of the same age are getting jobs by saying that they are 17. A girl, only 14, says that she is 16. The father of a boy who is 18 wished him to go to work and claimed he was 15 ; it was known to the school authorities that he was only 18, so they would not give him a permit, but the father said he didn't need a permit, because he would tell the employer his boy was 16, and he could go to work anyway. In one city, a juvenile court officer said the sale of Bibles had increased greatly, and it developed that many children under age were "proving" by these re- cently acquired Bibles that they were 14 years old. These cases are cited by different social workers, in different cities, and are the common experience of persons dealing with adolescent children. In some cases families wish the extra money the child brings in. Some fathers will loaf two or three days a week while their sons of 14 or 15 work for them. A factory which provides for its employees a welfare worker, a cafeteria, and a restaurant, thought it employed no girls under 16. When the Federal inspector came she said the ages of some of the girls were doubtful The welfare worker assured her that members of their families, known to her, had vouched for their ages. But later the welfare worker began to investigate for herself. She told the doubtful ones to get affidavits as to their ages. Then some of the relatives admitted that they had been 396 Child Welfare in Tennessee "mistaken." Four were found to be under 16. One would be 16 in August, 1920, and one in September, 1920; they had both been working over one year. To protect both employer and employees and to correct the present condition, greater care must be taken in. the issuance of permits, and more factory inspectors are needed to keep track of the children working, and there must be a closer co-operation with the schools. But it is only as the public becomes interested in this question and feels its re- sponsibility that the present conditions can be improved. The Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspection. Whatever is done to enforce the law regulating the em- ployment of children is done by the Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspection. The law of 1919 changed the State Factory Inspection Department to the Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspection, placing it under the State Mining Department. The chief executive of the Bureau of Work- shop and Factory Inspectiori. submits his report to the Chief Inspector of Mines. This, is not a logical arrangement. The two departments are really co-ordinate. Their work is separate, but parallel. With the great industrial growth which has taken place in recent years in Tennessee, and which is progressing rapidly, a change should be made in the method of handling the whole labor question as it relates to the state. A state Department of Labor should be cre- ated. Under it there should be various bureaus, such as the Bureau of Mines, the Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspection, the Bureau of Workmen's Compensation, with an adequate force and an adequate appropriation for each. As need arises from time to time, new bureaus may be established under this department. The work covered by the Bureau of Workshop and Fac- tory Inspection at present includes: Inspection as to sanitation, ventilation, machinery and fire protection. Woman labor. Child labor. Industrial accident reporting. Workmen's compensation. Child Labor 397 It is not necessary in this study to go into details with re- gard to inspection as to sanitation, ventilation, machinery and fire protection, nor as to woman labor, but something should be said with regard to accident reporting and work- men's compensation. Under the laws of 1913, accidents were reported so that they might be indexed, codified and filed with a view to redifcing the number, of accidents "and making life safer and happier for employees." Only acci- dents resulting in the loss of seven days' time by the injured party, however, were reported. Under the new workmen's compensation law of 1919 the work has increased 1,000 per cent. Under it, all accidents whether the injured party is entitled to compensation or not, are reported. Proper and legal settlements of claims in cases where compensation is payable must be adjusted. In most states where there is such a law, the adjustment of compensation claims and all other matters relating to the compensation law, are placed in the hands of special commissions. The state bureau has this vast amount of clerical work to perform in addition to its regular inspection work, re- porting and prosecuting for violations. Besides the chief inspector there are three deputy inspectors, one in Mem- phis, one in Jackson, and one in Nashville. There is also one woman inspector who is particularly interested in con- ditions under which women and children are working. In the central office at Nashville, there are three clerks and one stenographer. For a state of the size and population of Tennessee, this force is entirely insufficient to carry on the work delegated to the bureau. Because of the laxity throughout the state in the issuing of work pejmits, as well as because of the bureau's limited personnel, it is impossible for the officers to inspect the small shops, drug stores and canneries. In some instances, where there is gross violation they prosecute, but in gen- eral these small establishments, as we have seen, employ children as they please. The salaries for the chief and the deputies in the Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspection are wholly inadequate and the state can not hope to hold efficient officers for such 398 Child Welfare in Tennessee ridiculous pay ; besides, the method of appointment, involv- ing, as it does, political consideration, is unsatisfactory. The proposed state department of labor should be under the control of a board which should have the power to ap- point all the department employees and to fix their pay within the limits prescribed by law. A bad feature of the law of 1919 in connection with the Bureau of Workshop and Factory Inspection is thes fee sys- tem. Every time an inspector visits a factory, a fee is col- lected proportionate to the number of employees on the pay- roll. The method is as follows ; the inspector sends his report with the name of the factory, the date it was visited, and the number of employees, to the chief mining inspector who, in turn, sends it to the administrative office. The bill is sent from the administrative office to the factory. This system might easily breed bad feeling between the factory and the inspectors, and it is largely due to the character of the inspectors and their attitude of co-operation with the factories that there is not more antagonism. Modem thought and legislation have gone far beyond this fee sys- tem. In order to get the best results there should be an appropriation large enough to cover the work of the Bureau, and the individual factory should not be required to pay any branch of the state government for doing its work. Such inspection should be welcomed by the factory because it assists in standardizing and improving its physical equip- ment and employment service. From the inspectors many factories learn what other factories have in the line of safe- ty devices, and what they are doing for the welfare of their employees. For the purposes of this study it is necessary to con- sider only the inspections for child labor. In many factories good conditions obtain, but violations of the law are still common. The instances given below, unless otherwise speci- fied, appear on the books of the Bureau. They are typical of violations found throughout the state. It is unlawful to employ, permit or suffer any child under 14 to work in any mill, factory, workshop, cannery, laundry, telegraph or telephone office or in the distribution Child Labor 399 or transmission of merchandise or messages, nevertheless a bottling works in Columbia employed six children without permits, five being under 14, two being under 12, two 13 and one only 11. These children were dismissed. A laun- dry in Lewisburg employed one child of 11, who was dis- missed. It is unlawful to employ a child under 14 years of age in any business or service except domestic service or agri- culture — when such employ interferes with the child's at- tendance at school. This clause is entirely ignored except in places where continuation schools have been established. In 1919 and 1920 the following cities had continuation schools : Alcoa, at one time a part of Maryville ; Fayette- ville, Greeneville, Knoxville and Loudon. Several new cen- ters are planned. It is unlawful to employ any child under 16 years of age at a large number of occupations which are usually classed as dangerous, including mines and quarries. The Department of Mines inspects mines and quarries for child labor. The first report of this department to be pub- lished in four years is announced for August, 1920. The present law, if enforced, is sufficient protection for chil- dren. The investigator did not visit any mines or quarries. Violations no doubt occur, but the Federal law imposing a tax of 10 per cent of the net profits for the employment of children under 16 years is drastic enough to prevent this except in rare cases. One curious case came up with regard to children under 16 years who were found operating cylinder printing presses which are classed as dangerous machinery, as investigation showed that they had learned to run these machines at the State Industrial School. In two other cases boys were dis- missed because they were working near dangerous ma- chinery ; in one of these, three boys were involved, two hav- ing permits and the third was under 14 and had no permit. It is unlawful to employ any child between 14 and 16 years of age in any occupation at which children under 14 may not be employed, more than eight hours a day or six days a week or after 7 p.m. or before 6 a.m. No child under 18 years of age may be employed as a messenger to deliver, 400 Child Welfare in Tennessee distribute, or transmit messages or merchandise after 10 p.m. or before 5 a.m. In Knoxville messengers have been employed without permits and after 7 p.m. In Memphis, as the bureau's report for 1919 shows, a confectionery and a grocery company were found employing children an illegal number of hours. In Columbia a telegraph company em- ployed a boy 13, who was dismissed. In Nashville a similar case was dismissed. Employers are required to keep on file for inspection work permits for all children between 14 and 16 yearfe who are employed. These permits can be issued only by the county superintendent of schools, or his authorized deputy. In Nashville, in a printing and engraving company's office, an affidavit was on file for a minor and the manager did not know a permit from the county superintendent of schools was necessary. Two boys in a Knoxville bottling works said they had permits, but they were not on file. In Chapel Hill three boys were working, one of whom was 13 years of age, and was dismissed. The manager thought the consent of the parents was all that was necessary for boys working during vacation and had no permits for any of them. Employers are required to keep a record showing the length of time each and every child under the age of 16 years works daily and weekly, such record being open for inspection at all reasonable hours. Many establishments, inspected for the first time, have not been keeping such time records, but generally when it has been brought to their attention by the factory inspectors they are very willing to comply with this part of the law. Violations under this section are, therefore, generally due to ignorance. The present child labor law says nothing about free labor working with convict labor. Two years ago children were found working inside the walls of the state peniten- tiary, some of them under 14 years of age. No law was enacted to regulate this, but it was brought to the attention of the Governor, and he, together with the heads of the state penitentiary, prohibited such practice. Child Labor 401 Courts. The attitude of the courts is indicative of the state of public opinion with regard to child labor. At present, there is so much indifference to the whole question, and so much lack of understanding of what is good for the child, that only gross violations can be prosecuted. If the child is greatly under age, or is being worked overtime regularly, prosecuting attorneys are willing to bring up the case, but with no sentiment with regard to work permits they are un- willing to prosecute for failure to comply with the law in this respect. Juvenile courts are of little use in child labor law enforcement. Such cases are not heard by them. They do not co-operate with the officials issuing the permits, nor do their records show the occupational history of chil- dren brought before them. Child Labor Standards . In May, 1919, a conference was held at Washington on child welfare, attended by representatives of the United States, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Serbia. One section of the conference considered the ques- tion of child labor and education. Certain minimum stan- dards for working children were formulated, which are here set forth for Tennessee's consideration. No child to be employed under 16 years of age in any occupation except that children between 14 and 16 may be employed in agriculture and domestic service during vaca- tion periods. No child under the age of 18 years to be em- ployed in or about mines or quarries. An age minimum of 21 years for girls employed as messengers for telegraph and messenger companies, or in the special delivery service of the United States Post Office Department. Prohibition of the employment of minors in dangerous, unhealthful or hazardous occupations or at any work which would retard proper physical and moral development. A child not to be allowed to go to work until he has had a physical examination and has been found to be of normal development for a child of his age, and physically fit for the work at which he is to be employed. There should be an- 402 Child Welfare in Tennessee nual physical examinations of all working children under 18 years of age. All children between 7 and 16 years of age to be re- quired to attend school for at least nine months of each year. Children between 16 and 18 years of age who have com- pleted the 8th grade but not the high school and are legally and regularly employed, to be required to attend day con- tinuation schools at least eight hours a week. Children between 16 and 18 who have not completed the 8th grade or who have completed the 8th grade and are not regularly employed, to attend school full time. Occu- pational training especially adapted to their needs to be pro- vided for children unable because of mental subnormality to profit by ordinary school instruction. Vacation schools placing special emphasis on healthful play and leisure time activities to be provided for all chil- dren. No minor to be employed more than eight hours a day or 44 hours a week. Night work for minors to be prohibited between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. Adequate provision to be made for advising children when they leave school of the employment opportunities open to them, for assisting them in finding suitable work, and providing for them supervision needed during the first few years of their employment. Studies of Conditions . The only way by which such standards may be incorpor- ated in the laws of Tennessee is through the development of public sentiment. Agencies dealing with children should inaugurate campaigns to interest each community in its own conditions. In the spring of 1919, Knoxville made a survey of its boy life from 10 to 20 years of age, and it is suggested that the social agencies in all communities combine to make surveys for both boys and girls. The Red Cross has carried on such a survey in one community of Tennessee. Any community, if it has the desire, can find out what its own conditions are and how they may be bettered. If possible, such surveys should include investigation of scliools, recrea- Child Labor 403 tional facilities, health of children, character building or- ganizations, work opportunities, and economic conditions. It is suggested that the following questions be asked with regard to working children. These may be used in any community even if a regular survey is not undertaken. General Questions. 1. What are the qualifications for a work permit? 2. How is it issued in this town? 3. How is the child labor law enforced? 4. What forms of lalbor are not subject to any law? 5. What cases of working children have been brought before a court? Specific Qvsstions. 1. How many newsboys are on the streets? 2. What hours do they keep? 3. How many boys or girls under 16 work (a) in stores, (b) in drug stores, (c) as delivery boys, (d) as messen- gers? 4. What are their hours? (a) After school and on Saturday? (b) Daily? 5. What is their school standing? 6. What do colored boys and girls under 16 do? 7. What are their hours ? 8. Is there any agency directing children to jobs suit- able for them? 9. What is the general sentiment of the community with regard to child labor and recreation? It will be easily seen that to make such a survey effec- tive persistent effort will be required on the part of the social agencies interested. Good work is being done by many agencies now, but they are not uniting their efforts. In different parts of the state, different organizations are active. Some cluhs such as the Federation of Women's Clubs and the Rotary Club, whose national wonk this year is boys' work, may assist in a survey. A partial list is given here to facilitate co-operation: Associated Charities, ju- venile courts, church organizations for children, Boy and Girl Scouts, K. of C, Y. M. H. A., Y. M. C. A., Y, W. C. A., 404 Child Welfare in Tennessee settlement houses, the Red Cross, Anti-Tuberculosis Asso- ciation, Public Health Nursing Association, W. C. T. U., and the Parent-Teachers' Association. The Parent-Teachers' Association, that great ally of the schools, is already planning to include as part of its regular work in Tennessee a study of the needs of the working child. It is hoped that all communities where there is a Parent-Teachers' Association will interest themselves in .this, and that the other social agencies will unite with them in the effort to improve conditions. RECOMMENDATIONS. 1. That a Department of Labor be created with a Com- missioner of Labor as its chief executive, chosen by a state board of labor. Under this department there should be a bureau of mines, a bureau of workshop and factory inspec- tion, a bureau of workmen's compensation, each with suffi- cient staff and appropriation to carry on its work satisfac- torily. Other bureaus may be added to this department as the need arises. 2. That the commissioner, chiefs of the bureaus, and other employees of the department of labor be chosen for their special qualifications and experience and hold office during the pleasure of the state board of labor. 3. That the bureau of workshop and factory inspection have a chief inspector and six deputy inspectors, at least two of whom should be women. 4. That Section 1, Chapter 57, laws of 1911, be amend- ed so as to cover all gainful occupations and trades, exclud- ing only agriculture and domestic service on farms or in homes where children are under the direct supervision of their parents or guardians, except as hereinafter provided. 5. That section 3, Chapter 57, laws of 1911, be amend- ed by changing the words "sixteen years" to "seventeen years" and by adding at the end of said section : "or any other trade or occupation which may, after due hearing, be declared by the excutive officers of the State Department of Education, Health and Labor, sitting as a board, injurious Child Labor 405 to the health or morals or dangerous to life or limb of such children." 6. That no child between the ages of 14 and 17 years attending a full time day school be permitted to work at any occupation open to such children more than three hours in any one day, nor without having obtained a vacation permit. 7. That it shall be unlawful for any person using, di- recting or having control of convict lalbor, to employ, per- mit or allow any person under 21 years to work in the same place or in connection with such convict labor. 8. That no child under 12' years of age be employed or permitted to sell or to deliver newspapers or magazines in cities of 5,000 or more inhabitants; that all children be- tween the ages of 12 and 17 years, selling newspapers, mag- a,zines or other merchandise in streets or public places obtain a badge from the officer issuing work permits; that in case any such child is out of school during school hours or selling later than the hour of 7 p.m., the badge may be taken up and withheld from the child for such period as circumstances may warrant; that newspaper publishers', dealers or distributors be prohibited from selling or supply- ing newspapers or merchandise to children under 17 years of age who have no badge. 9. That attendance and probation officers be authorized and required to enforce these provisions. 10. That no child under the age of 17 years be per- mitted to operate freight or passenger elevators in any place whatsoever. 11. That all employers employing or seeking to employ children between the ages of 14 and 17 years secure and keep on file work permits, as hereinafter provided for, sub- ject to inspection by all agents of the state department of labor, school attendance and probation officers. 12. That the chief attendance officer of county or city, or his authorized representative, issue work permits to minors between 14 and 17 years of age upon presentation of the following : a, A certificate of age as provided for by the present law. 406 Child Welfare in Tennessee b. A certificate of physical fitness in accordance with standards to be specified by the State Board of Health. _The certificate of physical fitness required for a minor to be signed by a physician appointed by the county or municipal health department, the board of education or other local school board, and to state that the minor has been thor- oughly examined by the said physician at the time of his application for a work permit and is physically qualified for the employment specified in the statement submitted by the prospective employer. c. A statement signed by the prospective employer, or by someone duly authorized on his behalf, setting forth the character of employment contemplated and the number of hours per day and of days' per week which said minor is to be employed. d. A statement from the school last attended showing grade completed. Where there is a continuation school a minor who has completed the 6th grade and is 14 years old may be granted a work permit if qualified, provided he attend the continua- tion school not less than 8 hours a week, these hours to be taken from his work hours. 13. A vacation permit may be issued to a minor be- tween the ages of 14 and 17 years valid for the hours be- tween 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., but not while school is in session. This permit to be of different size and color from the work permit. The child labor law to be printed on the back and "vacation permit" to be stamped across its front. In all respects the requirements for the vacation permit to be the same as those for the work permit with the exception that no educational requirement be included. 14. All permits to be issued in triplicate, one to be forwarded by mail by the issuing officer to the prospective employer, one to be forwarded to the properly authorized officer of the bureau of workshop and factory inspection and one to be filed in the issuing office. 15. The name and residence of a minor denied a per- mit, together with reason for denial, to be forwarded by the permit officer to the principal of the school such minor should attend. Child Labor 407 16. All permits to be signed by the issuing officer and by the minors to whom issued. 17. The blank forms used for permits and for the cer- tificates and statements required of applicants for permits to be prepafed and supplied by the Department of Labor. 18. On termination of the employment of a minor under the age of 17 years his permit to be returned by mail by the employer to the issuing officer immediately upon the demand of the minor or otherwise within three days after the termination of said employment. The copy of the per- mit on file in the issuing office to be cancelled and the original permit cancelled and sent to the Department of Labor for filing. The minor whose permit has been so re- turned to be entitled to a new permit upon presentation of a statement from a prospective employer accompanied by a certificate of physical fitness to undertake the work speci- fied in the statement submitted. Where school attendance or probation officers find children employed in violation of law they shall immediately report the fact to the State Department of Labor or to the issuing officer. 19. In all cases of violation the juvenile court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction. 20. Section 4 of Chapter 57, acts of 1911, as amended by Section 2, of Chapter 57, acts of 1917, be amended by changing the words "sixteen years" to "seventeen years." 21. It should be made unlawful for any parent, guardian or other person to make any false statement or representations in order to secure a work permit or the employment of a child. 22. It should be unlawful to employ girls under 18 years of age in mills, factories, stores, restaurants and other such places. CHAPTER VII. JUVENILE COURTS BY. MABEL BROWN ELLIS In the field of juvenile court legislation, Tennessee presents an unique situation. She has a carefully drawn state-wide juvenile court act, passed in 1911, which, with slight amendment*, would serve satisfactorily today, but which is practically inoperative outside of the two cities of Memphis and Nashville, where a special clause in the act creates for each its own court. She has in addition, four special juvenile court acts applying, severally, to the cities of Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville and Kingsport, all passed since the drafting of the* state-wide act, all different and in three or four cities distinctly inferior to the state- wide act in the standards of procedure which they set up.* For every practical purpose there are seven juvenile court laws upon the statute books of Tennessee today, yet in only one city, Memphis, does the work of the juvenile court measure up even to the minimum standards for effective service. It is not unusual to find an acceptable state-wide law practically ignored outside of the large cities of the state. But in cities where public interest has been suffi- ciently great to cause the enactment of special legislation to find juvenile courts falling so far below actual fulfillment of their true functions is extraordinary. A second peculiarity in the situation arises from the fact that in three counties, Shelby (Memphis), Hamilton (Chattanooga), and Davidson (Nashville), the juvenile court is declared to exercise jurisdiction over the entire county, although the judge is a city official, the probation staff are appointed and paid by the city and all expenses of maintenance are defrayed by the municipality. The con- stitutionality of such a court is more than doubtful, but this 410 Child Welfare in Tennessee particular question has never been brought before the supreme court for a decisive ruling. However, the fear that any lawyer who disapproves of any action of the court may force the issue and succeed in having the juvenile court act declared unconstitutional on this ground is an active factor at present in limiting the usefulness of certain courts.. In Shelby County, for instance, the juvenile court is now deliberately attempting to confine its activities to the city of Memphis until the juvenile court act can be amended to make it definitely either a city or a county court. Such un- certainty as to the exact jurisdiction of the court has tend- ed to discredit it in the minds of the legal fraternity and the general public. Because of it the juvenile courts have been deterred from making that fight on the loose use of habeas corpus proceedings to secure the release of children from institutions which, if it continues at the present rate, will entirely discredit the authority of the court in the mat- ter of commitments. Court rulings cannot long retain the respect of a community when an officer can deliver a child to an institution, see that he is regularly received and that the commitment is consummated and immediately there- after serve a writ of habeas corpus, by virtue of which the child is given back to the same officer who brought him and is taken home on the next train. While this actual transaction is a somewhat exaggerated illustration of the sort of thing which is going on in Tennessee it is typical of the dangers to which the uncertain status of the juvenile court subjects it. Partly because of the situation with respect to commit- ments, but more largely because of dissatisfaction with the methods which the local juvenile courts are following in their handling of children and the alleged inefficiency of their probation service, there is coming into existence throughout the state a general feeling that the juvenile * The Clarksville statute follows the wording of the state law exactly except in the sections dealing with provi- sions for judge and probation officer. Juvenile Courts 411 court is a failure and should be abolished. People claim that it is unnecessarily expensive to maintain a special court when children's cases could just as well be heard in private sessions in the city police court, with policemen acting as probation officers ; and could be more promptly disposed of since the city police court is in daily session and the juvenile court hearings are held only on special days. This claim is of course, based upon an entire misconception of the pur- pose and methods of juvenile court hearings, but it is easy to understand how such misconceptions can arise in cities where the same man presides over the city police court and the juvenile court, where young children are frequently brought before the police court and transferred thence to the juvenile court, instead of being taken before the juvenile court direct, and where political appointees of the police- man type are employed as probation officers. The state- ment is also frequently made that since the passage of the juvenile court laws the number of arrests of children has greatly increased and that because juvenile court sessions are held only once or twice a week this necessitates the de- tention of children in jail. It is claimed, with entire truth, that any system which tolerates detention in jail of young children, charged only with trivial offenses, is altogether wrong. Court statistics on the number of arrests of chil- dren prior to the passage of the juvenile court laws are not available, but in all probability the number of arrests has increased, particularly in cities where some effort is now being made to enforce the compulsory school attendance law, and it is unfortunately true that the conditions under which children have been confined prior to hearing and pending commitment have been a disgrace to certain cities of the state. What people fail to see is the fact that in every one of these instances the local administration is at fault and not the principles of juvenile court procedure, with which such conditions are in direct conflict. The spe- cial acts have many defects and should be repealed; the state- wide act needs amendment ; but in the last analysis the person entrusted with the administration of the law makes or mars the court ; and without any changes in the law at all. 412 Child Welfare in Tennessee any one of the special juvenile courts in Tennessee can over- come most of these criticisms, some of which are only too well grounded. It will be one purpose of this report to out- line methods by which such changes can be accomplished. A third feature of the Tennessee situation especially in- vites analysis. Students of juvenile court problems agree that the methods by which juvenile court judges are selected vitally affect the standing of the courts. If the position is filled by a politician, who is bound by party obligations to appoint as probation officers only persons of his own polit- ical faith, irrespective of any other qualification, the whole structure of the court may be wrecked by a change in ad- minstration. The likelihood of such an event often deters people of ability from fitting themselves for probation work. It takes time to build a court as to build any other social agency and the prospect of probable demolition at the end of four years, or even two years, offers few attractions. But many state constitutions outline a complete judicial sys- tem and forbid the creation of an entirely new court, hence it has ordinarily been necessary to graft the juvenile court upon the already existing system and to accept, for the juvenile court judge, whatever method of appointment or election is already in force for the court to which he is at- tached. The state constitution of Tennessee, on the other hand, expressly provided for the creation by the state legis- lature of special courts (Article 6, Sec. 1, Const, of Tennes- see), and under this clause one county (Knox) has estab- lished a juvenile court to which the judge is elected by the people of the county for this special office and for no other. In Chattanooga, Nashville, Clarksville and Kingsport the judge of the city police court is ex-officio judge of the ju- venile court. In Chattanooga he is elected by the people for a four-year term ; in the three other cities he is appoint- ed by the city commissioners. The Mayor of Memphis ap- points the judge of the Shelby County Juvenile Court. Thus we have in the four largest cities of Tennessee three distinct methods of electing juvenile court judges; election by the people, appointment by the Mayor, and ex-officio holding of office, based in one case on election by the people of the municipality and in the second case on appointment by a Juvenile Courts 413 city commission. In the remaining counties of the state a fourth means of choice is provided. By the terms of the state-wide act the judge or chairman of the county court becomes ex-officio judge of the juvenile court. This official may be elected by the voters of the county, in which case he is called the county judge, or he may be chosen by the magis- trates who compose the board over which he presides, in which event he is called the chairman of the county court. Whatever the name, the county court in Tennessee is an administrative and not a judicial body, and its presiding officer is really the business manager, or financial agent of the county. While the courts which operate under the special acts are necessarily governed in certain details of organization and procedure by the provisions of those acts, enough op- portunity for individual initiative is left the judges so that conclusions as to the relative advantages of specified meth- ods of election may fairly be based upon the results attained by the courts over which judges so chosen preside. In addition to exercising the usual jurisdiction over de- linquent, dependent and neglected children the juvenile courts of Tennessee are charged with the administration of the mothers' pension law. The terms of this statute are more fully discussed in another chapter, but it is important to note in this brief preliminary survey of the oustanding features of the situation, that the county courts may choose whether or not they shall make appropriations for pensions and that only four counties, so far as could -be learned by questionnaire, have voted funds for this purpose. Of these, only Shelby County has made an appropriation of any size. This is perhaps fortunate, since the pension law in its present form could easily be made a political tool of consid- erable danger, providing, as it does, a totally inadequate maximum grant without any specified supervision. How- ever, anyone who has studied the records of institutional commitments in Tennessee recognizes the need of devising some system by which a good mother who is in financial distress because of the death or incapacity of a husband, may be helped to bring up her children in her ovra home. Whether this can best come by revising and extending the 414 Child Welfare in Tennessee present pension legislation, or whether a better point of attack would be the entire system of public charities, which unquestionably needs improvement, are questions to be con- sidered later. Plan of Work In the five state studies of juvenile court legislation pre- viously made by the National Child Labor Committee* con- siderable attention has been given to the administration of such laws in rural counties. Certain conditions have been described again and again and certain conclusions have been repeatedly arrived at. The nation-wide questionnaire study carried on by the Children's Bureau in 1918 emphasized the same conclusions. While interesting variations may at any time appear and should always be sought out, it is useless to expect rural counties where few children appear before the courts during any given year to yield many facts of significance to the student of juvenile court problems unless — and this is important — some outside agency, national in scope like the Red Cross, state-supported like a state proba- tion commission, or privately financed like a State Charities Aid Association, is in the field to stimulate and standardize work for children. Without such supervision rural courts will at times hold children in jail; they will give away chil- dren for adoption without any sort of preliminary investi- gation or after-supervision; probation service in the real sense of the term will be practically unknown ; mental tests will never be given and piiysical examinations will be made only in cases Of commitments to institutions which demand a certificate of physical fitness. Records will be fragment- ary and social histories of any sort, except the bare facts of sex, age and color, will rarely be available. The judge will always be a man who presides over the juvenile court hearings by virtue of his election to some other office and his chief interest will usually be with his other duties. The casual relationship which exists between irregular attend- ance at school, violation of the child labor laws and lack of ♦Oklahoma, Michigan, North Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky. Juvenile Courts 415 recreational facilities on the one hand and juvenile delin- quency on the other, will seldom be appreciated either by the judge or by the community at large and consequently no community effort to prevent the development of delin- quency and dependency will be under way. Many children in great need of help will not be recognized as problems at all. The supposition that these conclusions can safely be drawn for the majority of the rural counties in Tennessee is confirmed by a study of the returns received from Ten- nessee by the Children's Bureau in its questionnaire study of 1918, the originals of which have been made available to the National Child Labor Committee. There is still need of further careful studies of rural courts, but since in Tennessee the need of detailed informa- tion about the special courts was pressing if the dangers threatening them were to be averted, it seemed advisable to confine the present investigation to the six cities where special courts were located and to depend upon question- naire returns for specific knowledge of the remaining coun- ties, only two* of which, according to the census of 1910, contained cities with over 10,000 population. Accordingly the three-month period spent in the field was given to the special courts in the six cities with the bulk of the time assigned to Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville ■ and Chattanoga. It was thus possible to gain a detailed and intimate acquaintance with the situation in the four courts which have been especially under fire. Only three children were handled during 1919 by the Kingsport juvenile court and only eighteen by the special court at Clarksville, so that the four large cities represent also the great majority of all the children's court transactions in the state.! The plan of work included as a matter of course inter- views with the judge, probation staff and all other court employes and a detailed analysis of the court and detention * Madison and Washington counties. t 2,112 children's records were obtained from Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga; 227 from the rest of the state. 416 Child Welfare in Tennessee records. In addition a particular effort was made to study the relationship existing between the court and the public schools, the police department, local children's institutions and other social agencies. Jails, county reform schools and almshouses were visited. Information was secured from the heads of state institutions for children as to the details of co-operation between court and institutions in the meth- ods of admittance and discharge. Calls were made at the homes of certain court wards for the purpose of Verifying probation records and testing the thoroughness of the of- ficer's investigation. At least two hearings of each court were attended, except in Chattanooga, where the illness of the judge made only one court session possible during our stay. Ninety counties were covered only by questionnaire. A brief letter was sent from the office of the Department of State Chairities through the courtesy of the Secretary, ask- ing the county judges to furnish information on the follow- ing points: 1. Name, color, sex, age, charge and disposition for each child before the court during 1919. 2. Name, color, sex and age of every child boimd out or apprenticed during 1919. 3. If appropriation was made for pensions, name of woman, names and ages of children, amount of pension and date when granted. 4. Name, color, sex, age and character of defect for any child in county known to be feeble-minded or epileptic, blind, deaf, dumb or crippled. Schedules already on file in the same office gave informa- tion on the number of children in almshouses during 1919 and the questionnaire returns made to the Children's Bureau in 1918 were tabulated with regard to probation service, detention and provisions' for physical and mental examina- tions. State- Wide Law. — History of Legislation. The first juvenile court law in Tennessee applied only to Shelby, D(avidson and Knox counties. Passed in 1905, it accomplished little more than to forbid holding children in Juvenile Courts 417 jail and to require the provision of detention homes by the county court. Jurisdiction was conferred upon any judge of any criminal, circuit or county court. Special records were to be kept by the clerks of these several courts, but there was no provision for separate hearings of children's cases or for probation service. No fees could be charged a child in other than capital cases or felony cases in which the court directed a prosecution according to the criminal code. The next session of the legislature raised the population requirements' to 100,000, which eliminated Knox County, but the act remained otherwise unchanged. In 1909 a special clause was inserted which conferred upon the city court of the county seats of Shelby and David- son counties the jurisdiction which was formerly exercised jointly by the judges of the county, circuit and police courts and which also provided for the compensation of probation officers in those counties. The act of 1911, which is the present state-wide act, retained this special provision for the organization of the courts in Memphis and Nashville, provided an advisory board for Memphis and attempted to secure for all other counties in the state a uniform system of juvenile courts, with the judges or chairmen of the county courts given original and exclusive jurisdiction over children's cases. Subsequent legislation provided special courts for the coun- ties of Knox and Hamilton and for the cities of Kingsport and Clarksville. Accordingly at present the state-wide act, as originally written, is in force only in the ninety counties which contain no large cities, although the city courts at Memphis, Nashville and Clarksville follow its general pro- visions as to procedure. The constitutionality of the act was upheld by the Su- preme Court of Tennessee in the case of Childress vs. State, 133 Tenn. 121, where the court held that the juvenile' court law did not violate the state constitution by requiring an answer to a criminal charge without presentment or indict- ment since the proceeding was not penal in nature, but was 418 Child Welfare in Tennessee designed to determine whether or not the child needed pro- tection. Court Given Jurisdiction. The county courts of Tennessee, which according to the state-wide law become, when handling children's cases, juvenile courts, were established by the state constitution "for the dispatch of probate and other business." The courts are made up of the magistrates of the county and are pre- sided over by an official who, as previously stated, is called the county judge if elected by the voters of the county and the county chairman if chosen by the magistrates. The legislature of 1855 created the office of county judge in every county in the state, but two years later tliis general law was repealed and since then it has been necessary for each county which desires to elect a county judge to create the position by special statute. The judge acts as executive officer and business agent of the county. In this capacity he has the care and custody of all county property except that which is by law given to some other officer and he may appoint agents to represent him in the care of this property. He controls all books, audits all claims, issues all warrants, settles ali accounts and in general attends to the execution of all county business relating to almshouses, jails, outdoor relief, roads, bridges and the like. He is required to make a semi-annual report to the county clerk. He serves an eight-year term and is entitled to $5.00 a day while presiding over the monthly and quarterly sessions of the county court, together v/ith such additional compensation as the county courts see fit to give him. The salary is generally fixed, hoivever, by the special act which creates the office for special counties. These special acts may also somewhat further define the powers of the county judge, but his duties are approximately the same throughout the state. Certain duties relating particularly to children have been conferred upon the county court by various other laws. An act passed in gives county judges and chairmen of county courts power to place in private homes for adoption any children between three and 15 years of age whose) Juvenile Courts 419 parents are not able to give them proper care ; and the old apprenticeship statute, which dates from 1762, gives the county court the right to bind out or apprentice orphans or the children of any persons unable to provide for their support, or illegitimate children if their mother is consid- ered unfit to give them suitable "moral and mental culture." The act which established the Tennessee Industrial School provided that commitment to that institution should be made through the county judge; and the Knox County Industrial School has a similar provision in its charter. Thus for many years the county court has discharged certain responsibilities toward children in need of help which have been bound up with its responsibility to the sick and needy adults of the county. It is only natural that the framers of the first state- wide juvenile court law for Ten- nessee should have considered the judge or chairman of this court, an official who is to be found in every county of the state, the proper person to carry on the work of the juvenile court. But as a matter of fact the arrangement has not worked well. It has been impossible from the first in the large cities where the volume of business which must be transacted by the county judges forbids their assuming extra duties ; and it is unusual in rural counties to find men elect- ed to the county judgeship who show intelligent interest in the comparatively small number of children's cases which come before them during the course of the year. Under the present law the county judge is forbidden to receive any compensation for his juvenile court work. While there are certain decided advantages in having as juvenile court judge the man who, being responsible for the county outdoor relief and care and upkeep of the county institutions pre- sumably knows the dependency and delinquency situation better than any one else, these advantages hardly make up for the fact that the judgeship is ordinarily regarded as a political prize of considerable importance and that the ordinary duties which the position imposes are sufficient to more than fill the time of the incumbent. In states where no other county office presents better possibilities of adapta- tion to juvenile court service the county judge may well 420 Child Welfare in Tennessee continue to handle children's hearings. This is not the case, however, in Tennessee, where the chancery courts seem to more nearly meet the need. The state of Tennessee is divided into twelve chancery divisions, and certain counties have, by special legislation, chancery courts of their own. These courts have the ordi- nary chancery jurisdiction over property disputes and over the settlement of estates; they have concurrent jurisdiction with the county courts over the persons and estates of idiots, lunatics and other persons of unsound mind; over the persons and estates of infants and the appointment and removal of guardians; and concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit court over divorce. The judge of the chancery court is elected for an eight-year term. He must be at least 30 years of age, a resident of the state for five years, and of the county or district for one year. The judge or chancellor travels in circuit from county to county of his division, but he appoints in each county a clerk or master of the chan- cery court who serves a six-year term and who is generally regarded as one of the most responsible and stable individ- uals in the county government. If the chancellor could become judge of the juvenile court in all counties except Shelby, Davidson, Knox and Hamilton, the clerks of the chancery court might become ex-officio referees for the handling of children's cases. This change would immediately accomplish the much to be de- sired results. It would establish the authority of the ju- venile court as of equal rank with that of the circuit courts and would do away with the present dangerous uncertainty of status. It would also do much to increase the dignity of the juvenile court in the public mind, since the chancery court has the reputation of being comparatively free from political manipulation. The present law provides' that all proceedings against children must be considered in the na- ture of a chancery proceeding, but this point of view would be much more clearly impressed upon the uninformed public if the chancery court itself were to assume jurisdiction over children's cases. The chancery court clerk, while a busy man, is not buried under a mass of petty detail or subject to emergency Juvenile Couets 421 calls as is the county judge. He is usually carefully chosen to start with and not infrequently holds office for several terms. So far as his standing in the community is con- cerned, it equals, if it is not superior to, that of the county judge. Given probation service, there is no reason w^hy the clerk or master of the chancery court could not serve satisfactorily in counties where the volume of juvenile court work would not be large. He should receive a salary for the work, the amount to be fixed by the chancellor and pay- ment to be made from the general funds of the county. For the counties which contain Tennessee's four largest cities we recommend the creation of a special family court, the details of which will be discussed following the descrip- tion of the conditions which exist at present in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville. Jurisdiction as to Age. The first section of the juvenile court act states that the law applies to children "sixteen years of age and under." Elsewhere throughout the act the limit is fixed at "under the age of 16 years," and the Court of Appeals in Sams vs. State, 6 Thomp. 188, held that where the evidence showed clearly that the defendant was "under sixteen" at the time of the commission of the offense and of the trial, the case should have been transferred to the juvenile court. Memphis, Nashville and Clarksyille follow the word- ing of the state act as. to age, while in Chattanooga, Kings- port and Knoxville only children "under 16" are included. Since the compulsory education law already on the stat- ute books and the proposed child labor law set the age limit at 17, we recommend that the juvenile court law be so amended as to correspond and that the wording throughout read "up to 17" for both boys and girls. The present privilege of retaining jurisdiction over a child once adjudged a ward of the court until he becomes 21 should be kept, but it needs modification as it applies to children admitted to state institutions. Jurisdiction Over Institutional Commitments . The juvenile court, under the existing law, may set aside or change any order affecting a child except in the case of 422 Child Welfare in Tennessee a commitment to a home-finding agency which places out children for adoption. No child may be committed to an institution beyond the age of 21 years, but the court re- tains the power to order his return home "on recommenda- tion of the managers" whenever "in the judgment of the court" his reformation is complete. The wording of the two phrases indicates that the managers and the court are supposed to be in agreement as to the completeness of the reformation, but as the section on co-operation between the courts and the institutions will show, this supposition is far from being in accordance with the facts. Previous reports of the National Child Labor Committee have pointed out the wisdom of giving to the agency in im- mediate touch with the child the responsibility of passing upon his fitness for release and ordering his discharge, but have also emphasized the fact that not only the fitness of the child to be released, but the fitness of his home to receive him after release should be carefully considered. Institu- tions which have no parole agents must depend upon proba- tion officers for investigations and reports on home condi- tions. Under such circumstances the discharge of a child to his home is really a joint responsibility shared by court and institutions, but the institution should retain the right of final jurisdiction. The Tennessee Child Welfare Com- mission declares its support of the indeterminate sentence, but believes that the judge should have the right to recall and discharge the child. Group Jurisdiction. The juvenile courts of Tennessee handle cases of delin- quent, dependent and neglected children, but are not, under the state-wide law, given jurisdiction over adults who con- tribute to such delinquency or dependency except as they hear non-support cases. They are charged with the admin- istration of the mothers' pension act and have concurrent jurisdiction with the justices of the peace in the enforce- ment of the compulsory school attendance law. The definitions of juvenile dependency and delinquency which follow differ in no important respect from the defini- Juvenile Courts 423 tions usually found in juvenile court laws and need no change. A dependent or neglected child is : "any child who, for any reason, is destitute or homeless or abandoned or de- pendent upon the public for support, or has not proper parental care or guardianship, or who is found begging or receiving or gathering alms (whether actually begging or under pretext of selling or offering anything for sale) or being in any street, road or public place for the purpose of so begging, gathering or receiving alms, or who is found living in any saloon, disorderly house, bawdy-house, or house of ill-fame, or with any vicious or disreputable per- son or whose home, by reason of neglect, cruelty, drunken- ness or depravity on the part of its parents, guardian or other person in whose home it may be, is an unfit place for such a child, and any child under the age of 14 years who is found begging, peddling or selling any article or sin^ng or playing any musical instruments upon the streets or giving any public entertainment, or who accompanies or is used in aid of any person so doing." A delinquent is : "any child under the age of 16 years who violates any law of the state or any city or town ordi- nance, or who is incorrigible, or who is a persistent truant from school or who associates with criminals or reputed criminals or vicious or immoral persons, or who is growing up in idleness or crime, or who frequents, visits or is found in any disorderly house, bawdy house or house of ill-fame, or any house or place where fornication is enacted or in any saloon, bar-room or drinking shop or place, or any placa where spirituous liquors or wine or intoxicating liquors or malt liquors are sold at retail, exchanged or given away, or who patronizes, frequents, visits or is found in any gam- ing house or in any place where any gaming device is, or shall be, operated, or who wanders about the streets in the night time without being on any lawful business or occupa- tion, or .who habitually wanders about any railroad yards or tracks or climbs on any moving train or enters any car or engine without authority, or who habitually uses vile, obscene, vulgar, profane or indecent language or is guilty 424 Child Welfare in Tennessee of immoral conduct in any public place or about any school house." Various other definitions of juvenile dependency and delinquency are found in other Tennessee statutes, notably in the act creating reformatory institutions for counties and cities (4356-4417), the Tennessee Industrial School Act (4418-4433), the acts which establish the state training schools for girls and for boys (4436a-4436-14-l and 4436a- 15-4436a-30) , the act which authorizes boards of education to establish truancy schools for "juvenile disorderly per- sons" (1461a-36) and the Child Welfare Act (4436a-65-al), but only in the last does the definition differ materially enough to warrant attention. The wording in this statute follows the phraseology of the juvenile court law, but these words are added to the definition of the juvenile delinquent: "provided, however, that as far as possible all children sub- ject to action as delinquents shall be regarded in the light of dependent or neglected children and subject to similar methods of treatment and that none shall be definitely classed as delinquents until their cases have been reviewed and an appropriate order entered therefor by a court of competent jurisdiction." If this section were to be literally interpreted it would mean that all petitions filed in the juvenile court must use the word "dependent" or "neglected" in describing a child charged with violating some law or ordinance and that after the court had passed upon the causes which brought him within its jurisdiction the classi- fication might have to be changed. The resulting confusion in dockets and records can easily be imagined. The pur- pose of inserting such a provision was doubtless to focus attention upon the condition of dependency or neglect, which underlies so much juvenile delinquency and to lessen the tendency to regard children as criminals.* But a mere phrase will not accomplish so far-reaching a result. As a matter of fact this section of the Child Welfare Act has *Pne Tennessee judge, replying to the Children's Bureau question- naire, stated that he had handled no juvenile delinquents but had tried seven criminals. Juvenile Courts 425 been entirely disregarded and it should be repealed as un- necessary. Children presumably guilty of murder in the first or second degree, or of rape, cannot be handled by the juvenile courts of Tennessee, but must be transferred to the crim- inal court for trial. Hamilton County has been by statute exempted from the operation of the state-wide juvenile court law and its own special juvenile court act gives the court jurisdiction only over delinquent children. There is, accordingly, no court in the county which has the right to hear cases of juvenile dependency or neglect except as the county judge retains certain statutory powers of placing-out, apprenticing or commitment, but the records in the probation office at Chat- tanooga sho^ that in 1919 at least 43 dependent and two neglected children passed through the juvenile court. There is little doubt that had anyone wished to put up a fight on the point all these dispositions could have been declared illegal. It is unfortunate that the present Tennessee law takes from the juvenile court jurisdiction over adults contributing to the delinquency or dependency of children and gives it to the county or circuit court. A criminal court cannot ad- mit social evidence ; it can hardly be expected to realize the importance to the child of its decision in the same way as can a juvenile court already familiar with the needs of the child ; and experience has demonstrated the difficulty of se- curing convictions from judges accustomed only to handling criminal cases. We recommend that jurisdiction over adults of this class be given to the juvenile court. Right to Waive Jurisdiction . Juvenile courts may waive jurisdiction over children accused of misdemeanor or felony if, after commitment, they are found by the court to be "incorrigible and inca- pable of reformation, or dangerous to the welfare of the community," and if a juvenile judge believes a child to be guilty of rape or murder in the first or second degree, he must immediately transfer him to the criminal court. The 426 Child Welfare in Tennessee first provision should be eliminated entirely and the second should be made optional rather than compulsory. The experience of other states has shown that where juvenile court judges are given the privilege of transferring "incorrigible" children to criminal courts there is a great temptation to abuse the privilege. The troublesome boy is the one in greatest need of the counsel and guidance which a juvenile court can give, and since commitment to an institution is always a possible means of disposition for children who do not respond to wise probationary supervi- sion, the juvenile court should be capable of handling, and does in many states successfully handle, all types of delin- quent children without recourse to the criminal courts. However, public opinion in Tennessee would probably not now tolerate the disposition of such serious charges as murder or rape by juvenile courts. Such cases against chil- dren are naturally very rare, but "when they do arise, it seems best for the present to leave the question of transfer open. This gives to the judge an opportunity to decide ac- cording to the circumstances of each case, whether or not it is wise for him to handle it. The special acts of Knoxville and Kingsport have a curi- ous provision which gives to a child, charged with violating any law or statute, the right to waive examination by the juvenile court. In such an event the juvenile court is re- quired to commit the child to the county jail in case he can- not furnish bond for his appearance before the criminal court. The very fact that a special form of procedure is thought necessary for children should indicate that they are not mature enough to decide what sort of hearing they want. This provision will, of course, pass with the repeal of the special acts. Right to Appeal and Jury Trial. Under the Tennessee law any person interested in a child's case may demand a jury trial, or the judge may, on his own motion, order a jury. The Hamilton County Act makes no provision for a jury trial, nor do the Knoxville and Kingsport Acts, except as the provision discussed in the Juvenile Courts 427 preceding paragraph may be considered to provide the equivalent. On the other hand the state law ignores the question of appeal, while the Hamilton County law specifically refuses it in the case of children, but permits the judgment of the court to be reviewed by the criminal court of Hamilton County upon petition for- certiorari and supersedeas. In the Knox County and Kingsport courts appeal lies to the circuit court with the requirement that it must be taken within thirty days after the entry of the order and that an appeal bond in the penalty of $250 must be filed by the parents or guardian unless the guardian makes oath that the persons interested in the child are unable to give an appeal bond because of their poverty. Trials upon appeal must be handled in the first term after appeal and unless a jury is demanded on the first day of the trial term, the circuit judge may hear and determine the appeal either in term time or vacation. We recommend that the juvenile court law of Tennessee be so amended as to remove from the statute both the right to appeal and the right to a jury trial in children's cases. The supreme courts of other states have repeatedly held that the denial of these rights in no sense constitutes an in- fringement upon the constitutional privileges guaranteed to each citizen because the purpose of the juvenile court is not punishment, but reformation, and because it passes upon, not the guilt or innocence of the child, but his need of lack of need, for protection. The Tennessee Child Welfare Com- mission believes that the right of appeal should be pre- served, and expresses its preference for the certiorari pro- ceeding. Violation of Jurisdiction . In the effort to secure to the juvenile court original and exclusive jurisdiction over children's cases the state law makes it a misdemeanor for any justice of the peace or city recorder to take any action in a case involving a child ex- cept to transfer him to the juvenile court. Failure to trans- fer is punishable by fine of not less than $50 nor more than $150. The law further provides that any child, upon arrest. 428 Child Welfare in Tennessee shall be taken directly before the juvenile court without any preliminary hearing by a justice of the peace or city recorder or any other court having jurisdiction over his alleged offense, but that if by mistake he reached the wrong court first, no action may be taken except to transfer him to the juvenile judge, who must then proceed as if the case had been begun by petition in the regular way. Provisions similar in intent appear in each-one of the special acts. But in Nashville and Chattanooga many children in- stead of being taken directly to the juvenile court or to some suitable place of detention, when court is not in session on their arrest, appear before the city police court first and are then transferred to the juvenile court. This means that their names appear upon the blotter at police headquarters, that they are frequently required to file an appearance bond, or to be confined in the city jail, that they attend the morn- ing session of police court and are exposed to the unwhole- some publicity of appearing before a court-room full of curious spectators. A clipping from a Chattanooga newspaper of March 24, 1920, is headed "Police Rounding Up Young Burglar Gang." After describing the various thefts which five negro boys were alleged to have comitted, the article pro- ceeds: " 'Robert G.,'* alias 'Ten Cent Store,' alias 'Goober Head,' aged 13, is said by the police to have a record for housebreaking and petty thievery that a much older and more experienced criminal might well be proud of. He is a minister's son and boasts that he never sleeps in a bed, but takes a few necessary naps behind kitchen stoves, in out-houses, vehicles, bams or empty buildings. The five boys were held to the juvenile court by Acting City Judge yesterday." Such publicity serves to make a boy a hero in the eyes of his companions and protection from similar "fame" can never be guaranteed to children who appear before city police courts. * Name fictitious. Juvenile Courts 429 A curious violation of the spirit of juvenile court pro- cedure, which is, however, perfectly legal from the tech- nical standpoint, is found at Knoxville. A justice of the peace has located his office within a few doors of the juve- nile court-room. Knoxville has only two probation officers and no clerical service for the juvenile court, and it fre- quently happens that the probation office is empty. People who come to file a petition against a child find no one in the juvenile court to receive their complaint, and seeing the office of the justice of the peace close at hand, go to him and swear out a warrant. He issues the papers, has the child brought before him and then transfers the case to the juvenile court. This is all quite legal. But he next pro- ceeds to charge the usual fee for the service of papers, which in most cases amounts to $3.90, and in several instances during 1919, the child was fined this amount by the juve- nile court and it was later paid to the justice. The special act establishing the Knoxville court gives the judge the right to fine a child, and there is nothing in the act to forbid the collection of costs, but the practice either of fining or collecting costs is incompatible with the best theories of juvenile court procedure, and the situation, while tech- nically not a violation of jurisdiction, comes dangerously close to it. Any juvenile court which finds it impossible to have some official representative always ready to take complaints should arrange with some public agency to han- dle the work without cost to the children involved. Procedure. The usual general statements relative to the purpose of the juvenile court legislation are found in the Tennessee" state-wide statute and in all of the special acts except that of Hamilton County. The law is to be liberally adminis- tered with the intent of giving to each child the nearest possible approximation to the care of a parent. A delin- quent is not to be regarded as a criminal, but as misguided and in need of help, and no disposition of a child or any evidence given in a juvenile court hearing may be used against him later in any other court. 430 Child Welfake in Tennessee Any reputable citizen of the county may begin action against a child by filing a petition, the facts of which are to be verified by affidavit, which may be upon information and belief. A summons then issues to the parent or person in whose custody the child may be, notifying him of the hearing. Whenever necessary the judge may appoint some suitable person to act in behalf of the child. Failure to obey the summons is punishable as contempt of court. The person of the child may be seized immediately upon the service of the court papers if it seems likely that the summons will be ineffectual. When a petition is filed it becomes the duty of the clerk to notify the probation officer, if there be one, and this officer must then investigate the case, take charge of the child before or after the hearing, as the court may direct, and represent the interests of the child at the hearing. The county judges are required to open their courts at all reasonable times for the hearing of children's cases. Sep- arate dockets and a separate record of proceedings must be kept by the clerk of the county court, but there is no pro- vision for separate hearings. Reliable information on the extent to which these gen- eral provisions as to procedure are being followed by rural courts throughout the state cannot be obtained by the ques- tionnaire method. The interest which the county judges take in their juvenile court duties, however, throws some light on the likelihood of their observing the law, and this interest can, to a certain extent, be guaged by their replies to the list of questions sent out by the Children's Bureau in 1917-19 and the list issued by the Tennessee Department of State Charities for the National Child Labor Committee in 1920. Of the 96 counties in the state only 62 made any reply to the Children's Bureau inquiry and only 54 furnished information to the Department of State Charities. In other words, one-third of the county judges in Tennessee did not even take the trouble to reply to a state or federal inquiry relative to their juvenile court activities. Both questionnaires made it plain that information was desired even if no children had appeared before the juve- Juvenile Courts 431 nile court during the year covered by the inquiry. Eighteen of the 62 counties which reported to the Children's Bureau stated that they had handled no children, and 15 gave no information as to numbers. Seventeen of the 54 judges replying to the second inquiry had handled no cases in juve- nile session during 1919. It is fair to suppose that counties which furnished no returns had very little or no children's work. They were, without exception, the smaller and more isolated counties. If this is true, considerably over one-half of Tennessee is most of the time without any demonstration of juvenile court procedure. So long as no children appear before the courts this situation is of slight importance, but if the recommendations of the National Child Labor Committee result in the appointment of full-time attendance-probation officers, inevitably certain situations, now existing unrecog- nized, will be brought to light and will demand court action. It will then be necessary for the rural courts to familiarize themselves with the procedure outlined in the juvenile court law and the staif of the Board of State Charities should be so enlarged that it will be able to lend them its personal help in the development of good standards of work. Disposition of Children. The means of disposition authorized by the state law are practically the same for delinquent and dependent chil- dren. The judge may commit them to some suitable insti- tution, public or private ; may put them in charge of some reputable citizen or the probation officer ; may board them out in family homes in case the expense can be met from private sources ; and may order medical care in a public hos- pital or institution or in a private institution if treatment can be secured without' expense to the county. In 1917 the paragraph which relates to the disposition of dependent* children was amended by adding a proviso that any boy con- victed of an offense punishable by imprisonment in the * The amendment, of course, properly belongs under the section which deals with delinquent children. 432 Child Welfaee in Tennessee state penitentiary must be committed to the State Training and Agricultural School, and a girl convicted of the same sort of offense must be sent to the Vocational School. As the amendment reads, it .would seem to eliminate the pos- sibility of probation or of any other kind of disposition except commitment for children convicted of felonies, but it has not been so interpreted, because its real purpose was generally recognized as an effort to limit admissions to the new state school for girls, which was rapidly becoming over-crowded. The" result has been to shut out from the school the very girls who most need its protection and whom the club women of the state had particularly in mind when they campaigned for its establishment. As everyone familiar with juvenile courts knows, girls are rarely brought before the judge for any other cause than some sort of sex offense. But immoral conduct with regard to sex matters is not a felony, although the girl arrested for grand lar- ceny is usually far less a menace to society than the girl who is a potential source of venereal infection or the pos- sible mother of illegitimate children. Had this limitation been literally followed it would have seriously hampered the juvenile courts. It has been a great inconvenience to them and their efforts to evade it have been a perpetual source of dissension between the courts and the State Board of Control, which backed the amendment and which manages the Vocational School. The amendment should be repealed at the next session of the legislature and the appropriation for the Vocational School should be sufficiently increased to take care of all girls who properly belong there. In two other particulars the law covering means of disposition needs change. Both relate to the use of county funds. A judge should have the power, after investigation of the financial standing of a child's family has shown the necessity for such action, to order him either boarded in a private family or given necessary medical treatment at the expense of the county. The former will prove much cheaper in a rural county than any attempt to maintain a large deten- tion home, and the latter is certainly less expensive than assuming a possible burden of physical incompetency Juvenile Courts 433 through a term of years. Where parents are able to con- tribute to the support of a child and are not doing so, the present law permits the judge to fix the amount they are to pay and he may enforce this order by execution or by any other method open to the court of equity. A study of the disposition made of 213 children re- ported by 54 rural counties during the year 1919 indicates, as might be expected, a high percentage of commitment, a small amount of so-called probation, which was in most cases equivalent rather to dismissal than probation, and more children transferred to the criminal court for trial than in the four large cities put together. Further dis- cussion of methods of disposition is deferred to a later sec- tion in order that comparisons may be conveniently made between the work of the organized and the unorganized courts. Probation Service The state law makes the appointment of probation officers optional with the judge. A chief probation officer and assistant or volunteer officers may be appointed by the juvenile court judge, but only the chief probation officer may be paid from the county treasury. His salary shall not be "at a less rate than $10.00 per annum." Appointees must be "discreet persons, of good moral character," and both men and women are eligible. They serve during the pleasure of the court. Certain duties imposed upon the probation officer in connection with the court hearings have already been indi- cated. He must, in addition, investigate all cases of alleged delinquency brought to his attention and must himself, if necessary, initiate proceedings to correct bad conditions. This power may be of great importance, for cases occasion- ally arise in which no citizen can be found disinterested enough to risk local unpopularity by filing a petition against a child, and probation officers often find their hands tied if they are compelled to wait for the filing of a petition be- fore they can take decisive action. Each probation officer in Tennessee has the powers of a peace officer and must serve papers as directed by the court. 434 Child Welfare in Tennessee The Tennessee law makes no requirement that the officer shall investigate a case prior to the hearing, although he may do so, if the judge directs it, nor is he required to make his report in writing or to keep any sort of written record. The returns to the Children's Bureau inquiry indicated that no full-time probation service was to be found in any juvenile court in Tennessee outside the four large cities, although seven other counties reported some assistance from part-time volunteer officers. This situation has prob- ably been somewhat improved within the last two years, as the Red Cross has organized local Home Service branches in several rural counties, and wherever a trained secretary is at work she is available for court service and is indeed stimulating community interest in the under-privileged children of the county. The appointment of probation officers should be com- pulsory rather than optional, even in the rural coimties, but since there is no immediate probability of the volume of juvenile court work in sparsely populated counties in- creasing to the point where it will justify the payment of a living wage to a competent person, it is suggested that the position of county attendance officer and county pro- bation officer be combined, by agreement between the county board of education and the juvenile court judge, and that the incumbent be permitted to draw pay both from the county educational fund, as salary voted by the county board of education, and from the general funds of the county, as salary voted, on recommendation of the juvenile judge, by the county court. The appointment of a county attendance officer is already required by law in every county of the state; the public schools furnish the best source of information upon the juvenile delinquency and dependency of any neighborhood ; the attendance officer, under the sug- gested change of law, will issue work permits and will find mothers' pensions of great value in supplementing this work. There is a natural relationship between the two positions which makes it highly desirable to combine their functions under one agency. Such a combination is already in sue- Juvenile Courts 435 cessful operation under new laws in North Carolina and Alabama, and has come about naturally in other states with- out special legislation. The duties imposed upon probation officers by the present law need extension. The law should clearly state that an investigation of the home, school and neighborhood in- fluences surrounding the child must precede every juvenile court hearing, and the probation officer should report his findings in writing to the judge before the adjudication. He should, further, keep written records of the progress of all probationers and accurate accounts of all moneys re- ceived or disbursed by him in connection with non-support, mothers' pension or juvenile cases. He should be specifically required to act as parole officer over any person released from a correctional institution when requested to do so by the superintendent and when authorized to do so by the judge; to act as probation officer over any person on pro- bation transferred to his supervision from any other court ; to act as the representative of the court in the investiga- tion and supervision of pensioned women ; and to make such reports to the Department of State Charities as that board may direct. Detention The law forbids any court to commit a child to jail for punishment and permits his detention in jail pending final disposition only over night, when he is arrested late in the evening and no other place to keep him is available, but even then not "in any enclosure with adult convicts or prisoners." A violation of the last provision on the part of any officer is a misdemeanor. The insertion of this clause leally begs the question of detention and it should be elimi- nated from the revised act. When the counties provide, as each county should be required to provide, suitable places of detention for children, the rooms should be kept ready for occupancy at any hour of the day or night. The jails in most rural counties have no facilities for the segregation of children from adults, and so long as it is legal to hold a child in jail for even one night, the coming of the detention home will be postponed. 436 Child Welfare in Tennessee Facts as to detention facilities were given to the Chil- drens' Bureau by 19 Tennessee counties. Fifteen stated that children were held in jail, 11 adding that they were sep- arated from the adult prisoners; two said they used the home of a court officer ; one used the county asylum or alms- house and a private home; and one used a private institu- tion. Tennessee suffers from the delusion found in other states as well, that detention homes are of necessity elaborate and expensive institutions, and that until each county can have a home of this sort, it is useless to have anything. As a matter of fact, the great majority of Tennessee counties do not need, and probably never will need, the institutional type of detention home. What they do need is a modifica- tion of the Michigan system of boarding-out court wards in selected private homes, a system described in some detail in the National Child Labor Committee's report on juvenile courts in Kentucky.* The recommendations made for Ken- tucky hold good for Tennessee where the rural courts face similar problems. They are : That the juvenile court judge must be authorized to ex- pend county funds to secure suitable places of temporary detention for children awaiting disposition by the court, but any private home or institution selected for this purpose should first be approved by the local advisory board of the Department of State Charities; that each county in Ten- nessee should be required, within six months from the pas- sage of the amendment, to make some such acceptable ar- rangement; and that the detention in jail of children of juvenile court age must be forbidden under any circum- stances. Physical and Mental Examinations No court reported physical or mental examinations, and it will doubtless be a long time before good service along the latter line will be available to the more remote counties. * Child Welfare in Kentucky. National Child Labor Committeo. 1919. Pp. 225-227. Juvenile Courts 437 Not even the large cities in 'tennessee have mental hygiene- clinics ; Dr. Haines found conditions below standard at the state insane asylums and unspeakably bad at the county asylums ; while the feeble-minded were found in large num- bers in almshouses, children's institutions, jails, and prisons. The excellent law which was passed as a result of his survey is not yet in operation because the $10,000 appropriation granted by the legislature of 1919 was insufficient even to purchase a site for the institution. There is thus little to build on for the development of such traveling clinics as, in Michigan and New York State, bring" expert diagnostic service to certain rural communities. However, with the opening of the state school for the feeble-minded renewed interest in questions of mental defect is bound to be aroused and additional resources for examinations should be steadily developed among the specialists in private practice in the cities, the teachers of backward children in the public schools, the staff of medical schools and institutions. Physical examinations can be easily secured and the judge should have the right to follow up a physical exami- nation when necessary, by ordering medical treatment at county expense. Special Attention to Girls' Cases Two safeguards for girls often found in juvenile court acts have been omitted altogether from the Tennessee law and should be added among the amendments. The first requires that a woman escort must always be provided for a girl committed to an institution; the second requires the presence of a woman in the courtroom during the hearing of all cases against girls. A possible third permits the judge to appoint a woman referee to represent him in any such case. The wisdom of the first requirement hardly needs dis- cussion ; it is obviously improper for a man officer to be en- trusted with the care of young girls at any time, but par- ticularly during a journey. The appointment of woman referees for girls' cases may not be feasible for many rural courts, but when a woman with the requisite qualifications 438 Child Welfare in Tennessee for this difficult work is available, the judge should have the right to call upon her at will. He should be required, however, to have some discreet woman present during any hearing which involved a girl so unfortunate as to have neither mother nor woman relative to come with her to the court. Records and Reports Juvenile courts in Tennessee which follow the provisions of the state act must keep a separate docket and a separate record book for children's cases. The clerks of the county courts are required to perform the clerical work for the juvenile courts without additional compensation. Only personal acquaintance with the local situation would make it possible to say how far the rural courts are com- plying with even the minimum requirements of keeping the separate docket and record, but no uniform blanks have been devised, and even, in the special courts a wide variety in record forms was found. Naturally, in courts without pro- bation service, no records of investigations or of probation histories are kept. Probation officers in rural counties who perform all the duties which the suggested combination of offices implies cannot be expected to keep elaborate records, but they must understand the absolute necessity of retaining, in perma- nent form, a summary of the most significant facts which come into their possession daily and which should be kept available both for their own future use and for the assist- ance of their successors. The drafting of blank forms which will facilitate the recording of facts which are of true sig- nificance is no easy task. It should devolve upon the De- partment of State Charities, rather than upon any local group, for two reasons: First, because the state depart- ment can bring to the work a wider experience and a better technic; and second, because the state needs to know how many children and what sort of children are appearing before its courts yearly, and in order to gather juvenile court statistics which will be truly comparable, county by county, a uniform record system is essential. Juvenile Courts 439 Amendments to the juvenile court law should include a requirement for filing an annual report with the Depart- ment of State Charities upon forms to be provided by them. Advisory Committees One rural county (Sumner) reported to the Children's Bureau that its court had an advisory committee, appointed by the judge, which undertook the care of "dependents on parole." The state-wide law leaves the establishment of advisory committees to the discretion of the judge. The three members who may be appointed serve without pay, and constitute a board of visitation, whose duty it is to in- spect, at least once a year, all agencies or individuals in the county who receive children on commitment from the court and to report their findings to the judge. With the coming into existence of the county boards of public welfare, the need of a special advisory committee for the juvenile court will be eliminated, since the new board will take over all its functions. Pending the estab- lishment of the new boards, we recommend that the clause remain in its present form. Financial Basis The legitimate costs of the juvenile court are now by law a charge upon the general county funds. They must be taxed by the clerk and certified by the judge to the county court. The county judge, as already indicated, is forbidden to receive any additional compensation for his services in the juvenile court; no provision is made for payiiig the clerk; only one probation officer may be paid and his ap- pointment is optional. The traveling expenses of the pro- bation officer and any other expenses incurred by him in carrying out the orders of the judge are a legitimate charge. Under the 1917 amendment, all costs connected with the hearing and disposition of children convicted of felonies become a charge upon the state, and upon approval by the juvenile judge and the county attorney, the state must foot the bill. For two reasons we recommend that this pro- vision be repealed : First, because it encourages the point of view which regards children as criminals and is incon- 440 Child Welfare in Tennessee sistent with the equity status of the juvenile court; and second, because the counties must be forced to a realization of the true economy of probation rather than commitment and must face their own responsibility toward removing lo- cal causes of delinquency. If the proposed transfer of the judgeship from the county to the chancery court takes place, we recommend that the judge of the chancery court fix a reasonable salary for the services which the clerk, or master in chancery, renders on the juvenile bench, and that the county court be required to honor his requisition for this amount from the general funds of the county. The restrictions which at present for- bid the payment of a salary for probation service to more than one man should be removed, but it is impossible to fix a minimum salary for probation service, since a combina- tion of oflfices is contemplated which will necessitate a division of expenditures likely to be based upon relative amounts of time given to different activities. It is safe to say, however, that any county which plans to spend less than $1,500 a year for the probation and truancy service, plus the purchase and upkeep of a car, cannot hope to secure a well-trained or competent person. State Supervision At present, as the preceding discussion has shown, each juvenile court in Tennessee is a law unto itself, making such disposition of children as it sees fit, conducting its hearings and keeping, or not keeping, its records after its own fashion. Nobody knows how many children are from year to year brought before the juvenile courts, or what happens to them, once arraigned, except as they are committed to state institutions. There is no possibility of estimating, with any degree of accuracy, fluctuations in the burden of juvenile dependency and delinquency which the state, through the taxpayers, is compelled to shoulder. Even in the special courts, the need of outside help is painfully evident if really effective work is to be carried on. Assistance in devising simple but adequate record forms, and the installation of an unpretentious filing system would Juvenile Courts 441 lay the foundation for the orderly conduct of business ; per- sonal training of newly appointed probation officers in the technic of investigation and supervision of probationers; case-reading arid criticisms ; tactful co-operation with judges in disposing of difficult problems as they arise; the promo- tion of cordial relationships between the community and the court; these are some of the ways in which both urban and rural courts would profit by state supervision. The states of New York and Massachutsetts have pro- vided such supervision through th|e creation of a state probation commission with a paid executive and this is undoubtedly the most effective method. Other states re- quire juvenile courts to make annual reports to a state board of charities or similar body of general powers. This gives statistical information only. Still others, like Michi- gan and North Carolina, have a system of appointment or certification by a state officer or agency. For Tennessee we recommend that the Department of State Charities be given an increased appropriation to provide for the development of a Bureau of Child Welfare, which shall include among its. duties the supervision of juvenile courts and the standardization of mothers' pen- sion administration throughout the state. Eventually Ten- nessee should plan for the adoption of county boards of public welfare closely connected with a state board and served by a county superintendent of public welfare, who shall at least be certificated if not appointed by the state board. Local considerations make it inadvisable to press this mechanism at the present time, but it should be held clearly in mind as a consideration for the future. The immediate provision of volunteer county boards of public welfare, appointed by the secretary of the department of state charities, and acting as his representatives in all matters, relating to the delinquent, dependent and defective classes, will be a step in this direction. We recommend that to this volunteer board be given the powers of visitation and report formerly given to the advisory committees of the juvenile court, and that they be specifically required to 442 Child Welfare in Tennessee hold themselves ready at all times to lend their help to the judge in any way that he may require. PART II. THE SPECIAL COURTS Three of the special courts in Tennessee follow the pro- visions of the state-wide law as to procedure, but are affected by municipal ordinances when it comes to the organization of the court and the probation service. These are Mem- phis, Nashville and Clarksville. Knoxville, Chattanooga and Kingsport have each a special law which differs in several important respects from the state-wide law. MEMPHIS The largest city in Tennessee, Memphis, is also one of the largest cotton markets in the United States. It leads the world in the manufacture of cottonseed products and is an important center of the hardwood lumber industry Its situation on the Mississippi River at the junction of Arkan- sas, Mississippi and Tennessee, makes it in reality the lead- ing port of three states and gives it a position of command- ing importance in the lower Mississippi Valley. Its industrial prosperity early brought great wealth to the city and this was enormously increased during the world war by the advance in the price of cotton. Evidences of civic spirit are not wanting. An active chamber of commerce which maintains a strong farm de- velopment bureau, a splendid system of parks, a municipal recreation commission, a charities endorsement committee, womens' clubs of standing and ability, a social workers' club and a fairly well developed group of social service agencies and institutions play a prominent part in the life of Memphis. The rural schools of Shelby County are con- sidered among the best in the South. It is not strange that from such a center sprang the first children's court in the state. Indeed, the Tennessee juvenile court law is often called "The Child of the Nineteenth Cen- tury Club" because of the support which this influential Juvenile Courts 443 group of Memphis women, led by Mrs. Mary B. West, gave to the idea and to the court when it was once under way. The state law of 1905, as previously indicated, applied to Shelby County, but its only provisions of importance were those which forbade the holding of children in jail and re- quired suitable detention homes to be made available. Ap- parently the latter provision was ignored, for on June 14, 1909, a special committee reported to the city council of Memphis that "under the law children under 16 years can- not be punished for misdemeanors, and this fact becoming generally known among the tougher element of street urchins, has caused them to commit many acts of mischief which the police department and the city court have been criticised for not stopping, a thing that cannot be done under the law." This statement evidently refers to the fact that children could not be committed to jail and the committee apparently considered jail commitment the only really efficacious method of disposing of bad boys. They recommended the establishment of a "Juvenile or Probation Court" over which the city judge should preside, and to which a deputy clerk of the city court and three patrolmen should be assigned, at a nominal increase of salary, to serve as clerk and probation officers respectively. Temporary quarters for boys were to be provided in the drill hall of the police station ; girls were to be left with the police ma- tron ; and it was urged that in the new police station then under construction four rooms be set aside for children. The ordinance as finally passed on July 22, 1909, differed considerably from this plan. The clerk of the city court became ex-officio judge and clerk of the juvenile court, at a salary of $750 ; and the fire and police commissioners were instructed to appoint a patrolman to serve as chief pro- bation officer, with the salary and rank of a police ser- geant. The commissioners were authorized to make ar- rangements for a separate place of detention for children. No action was taken, however, until 1910, when interest in the question of detention had increased to a point where the city by ordinance established an advisory board to select a suitable location for a detention home, to investi- 444 Child Welfare in Tennessee gate the methods of conducting similar institutions else- where, to devise rules for the management of the Memphis home and to supervise it after its completion. The old high school was remodeled for this purpose and was opened to the juvenile court in 1910. The following year came the enactment of the first state- .wide juvenile court law, which also made special provisions for the organization of juvenile courts in Shelby and David- son counties. The judgeship went to the city judge, who was required to conduct children's hearings in a separate place and at a separate time from the trial of adult offenders. A clerk, who might also be clerk of the city court, was to be appointed by the city commissioners, who were given the right to appoint also not more than five persons of good moral character to serve as probation officers. Salaries fo* judge, clerk and probation staff were to be fixed by the city government. The municipal authorities were given the right to prepare and maintain a suitable place for detention, either at their own expense or in co-operation with the coun- ty. This is the legal basis upon which the Memphis court now operates. It is a municipal court, entirely supported by the city, which is yet specifically given, by the state law, jurisdiction over an entire county. Organization of the Court The present judge is a woman, the first representative of her sex to hold a judgeship in Tennessee or in the South. The judge of the Memphis Juvenile Court is elected by the city commissioners upon appointment by the mayor, for a term of one year. The salary may not exceed $200 month- ly and the present judge draws the maximum salary. In case of death, resignation or removal, the mayor may ap- point someone to fill the vacancy until the commissioners confirm a new nomination. In case of temporary absence or disability of the judge, the same power of temporary appointment holds good. The city may not deduct the salary paid the temporary appointee from that paid the regular incumbent, unless the latter is absent more than thirty days or unless the commissioners declare him to be absent without a good excuse. Juvenile Courts 445 The present judge, who took office on May 1, 1920, has been for years prominent in the activities of the Parent- Teachers' Association, and for the past three years has served as chairman of the "Feed Memphis Committee" of the Chamber of Commerce. Following her appointment and prior to assuming office, she visited Washington, New York City and Chicago in order to inform herself of the most recent developments in the well organized juvenile courts of those cities. She is a member of the local Social Work- ers' Club, the National Probation Association and the State and National Conferences of Social Work, and has been appointed by Governor Roberts to serve on the Tennessee Child Welfare Commission. While regular sessions of the court are held only four times weekly, the judge is at present giving practically her full time to the work. The clerk, who also gives full-time services, has held office for eight years. His duties involve making out peti- tions and issuing court papers, handling the court records, the detention home records and such financial transactions as the payment of petty bills, salaries and mothers' pensions and the collection of non-support moneys. The woman who now serves as chief probation officer took office when the new judge came in. She is a graduate of a Red Cross home service training course and served a year in France with the Red Cross. Other members of the probation staff include a woman officer who came untrained but has acquired valuable experience through her six years' association with the court, and two men officers, one white and one colored, both recent appointees and neither with special training for the work, although the negro has had some experience with a charity organization society in Texas. Salaries range from $900 to $1,500. Officers are appointed for an indefinite period and their duties are those already described in the state-wide law. Hours of work are from nine to five, with a half holiday on Saturday. While there is no formal provision for vacations, it has been customary to allow each officer two weeks on pay and to make no deductions from salaries for short absences due to illness or attendance at confer- 446 Child Welfare in Tennessee ences. Traveling expenses of the judge and chief proba- tion officer to conferences are occasionally, but not regu- larly, defrayed by the city. The court owns an automobile, the upkeep of which is cared for by the city. The white officers are also given passes on the street cars. No steno- graphic help has been furnished by the city for some months prior to May 1, but one stenographer is now at work oh the records. The Memphis court now operates two detention homes, one for white and one for colored children. At the first building, which houses also the court-room, probation offices and school, three white employes and a colored cook care for the children. An elderly woman acts as matron and supervises the cook, who, with the help of the older girls, prepares meals for both boys and girls. A man is as- signed to the position of superintendent, or prefect, on the boys' side of the building. The janitor service is in the hands of one man who lives with his family in a cottage on the school grounds. All these attendants are appointed for an indefinite term by the advisory board. The men have been at the court since its opening in 1910. The matron was appointed in 1917. At the colored detention home, the man probation officer acts as boys' superintendent and a young woman is em- ployed as matron. The plan is eventually to engage as matron a woman with experience as a public school teacher so that the colored children need not be entirely deprived of schooling during their period of detention, as they are at present. The white' children attend the Mary B. West Special School in the detention home building under teach- ers furnished by the city board of education. Mary B. West Special School This combination of special school and detention home is one of the strongest features of the Memphis court. It creates a distinctly educational atmosphere and spares chil- dren and parents the unpleasant associations connected with a criminal court building. Children who may need to be held in the detention rooms for a period of several Juvenile Courts 447 months can attend school in the same building and after they are released to their own homes on probation can continue to attend. In cases of juvenile delinquency where maladjustment at school is the underlying cause, this trans- fer often proves the solution of the child's problem. There is also opportunity for close supervision during the period when physical defects are receiving attention at the clinic, which has been, and is soon to be again, conducted in the same building. The city board of education pays the salaries of two teachers at the special school, and to their classrooms come not only the court wards from the detention rooms, but troublesome children from other city schools as well. Al- though it is a disciplinary school, a spirit of such happiness pervades the place that boys are said sometimes to delib- erately commit small offenses in the hope of being sent back. Special features which doubtless contribute to its popularity are the weekly swim, when all the boys are taken by the teachers to the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation building and are given free s^yimming lessons in the pool; and the daily lunch at noon, which the girls prepare after the boys have, in turn, done the marketing, an honor eagerly sought. No child can pay more than ten cents for his lunch, and if the money is not forthcoming, arrange- ments are made to supply it. The quality of the teaching was commended by the agents of the Federal Bureau of Education, who during the Memphis survey of 1918, found that the Mary B. West Spe- cial School was "performing invaluable service for the com- munity and for the exceptional children in its charge," although "handicapped by most adverse conditions." Un- fortunately, the manual training shop in the basement is unused for lack of a teacher, and the janitor's family occupy the small cottage which was once used for the teaching of domestic arts. In spite of being deprived of this impor- tant means of self^xpression, the children in the Special School were remarked by the surveyors to display much 448 Child Welfare in Tennessee more "freedom of initiative under guidance" than could be found in the other elementary schools of Memphis.* But the most significant tribute to the lasting value of the training given by the teachers of the Mary B. West Special School is paid by the return of former pupils from time to time, well-dressed, prosperous-sappearing young men, to report on their own progress, to present prospective brides, to ask help for other boys in their neighborhood or to offer co-operation in getting jobs for the "fellows" still in school. Detention Home for White Children A large waiting-room made attractive with growing plants and pictures, a court-room simply furnished with tables and chairs, the offices of the chief probation officer and of the clerk, a filing-room with fireproof files and safe and a large supply closet, share with the school-rooms the first floor of the detention building for white children. Half way up to the second floor on either side of the hallway are .two small rooms, each with running water, which have been fitted up, one as a private office for the judge and one as a clinic room. The clinic room has dental chair and complete equipment, operating table and a good supply of instruments, sterilizer, filing-cases, and the usual paraphernalia of clinic work. Here a staff of volunteer physicians formerly gave both physical and mental tests. The remodeling of the second floor of the building has been so skillfully planned that complete segregation of dependents from delinquents, and boys from girls, has been obtained without sacrificing space, light or ventilation. The equipment is of the plainest, but all furnishings are of good quality and the cleanliness, the sunshine pouring into every room and the spirit of friendliness which pervades the place make the detention home attractive in spite of its lack of ornamentation. * Dei)t. of the Int. Bur. of Ed. Bulletin, 1919, No. 50, Part 3, pp. 34-3D. Juvenile Courts 449 The dormitory for dependent boys contains nine single beds. It is separated from the dining room, which both groups use, by a partition reaching to the ceiling, the lower part of wood, the upper part of strong wire screening, which admits light and air. The dining room is also used as a recreation room when bad weather keeps the boys inside. It is furnished with an oilcloth-covered table and benches. One bookcase with a few books offer the only visible means of recreation. Between the dormitories of the dependent and the de- linquent boys is the attendant's room, with doors opening into each dormitory and a fire-escape stairway leading down to the yard. A bell and a speaking tube make it possible to communicate with the attendant from the outside and he can, by pushing a lever, release the door at the foot of the fire-escape so that the arresting officer can bring in a boy at any hour of the night. The dormitory for delinquent boys contains seven single beds and is large enough to hold more without overcrowd- ing. Shaded lights are left burning all night in this dor- mitory and outside clothing is removed from the room. All windows are wired and the doors are made of strong but inconspicuous wire mesh. Each dormitory has its own bath-room and each boy keeps his own towel and wash-cloth hanging on the foot of his bed. The supply of gowns and bed linen is adequate and the beds are comfortable. Individual combs and tooth- brushes are supplied. A supply closet holds clothing and linen; on arrival, each boy is given a hot bath and fresh clothing and his own garments are held for him in the sup- ply closet until his release. On the girls' side of the building similar arrangements prevail. Off the dormitory are two small rooms in which seriously delinquent or infected girls are kept. Each group has its own bath-room. The girls' dining room and kitchen are in the same room, but the stoves are kept bright, the room is very large and altogether the arrangement is not so objectionable as it sounds. The table is covered with clean white oilcloth, 450 Child Welfare in Tennessee and chairs instead of benches are furnished. All the cook- ing for both boys and girls is done here and the boys' meals are taken across to their dining room on a "tea- wagon." on which, later, the soiled dishes are brought back to the girls for washing. Off the dining room is a little round tower-room where the small girls play. Both here and in the boys' department more games and toys are badly needed, and in general the chief criticism of the detention home is its lack of pro- vision for recreation. This lack is not so serious during the school term, when all children of school age go down- stairs twice a day for study and recitation and mingle in the games of their mates during intermissions, but a larger yard for use during summer vacation and after school hours is badly needed, and at all times the little boys and girls need more vigorous exercise than they are getting. The Colored Detention Home In striking contrast to the accommodations provided for the white children are conditions at the colored detention home. A five-room flat on the second story of a negro tene- ment house in a particularly undesirable neighborhood has been converted into a detention home by the simple process of barring the doors and windows. A front room with two windows, practically unfurnished except for a bed, is used by the matron for her bedroom. Back of it and opening on the hall by a heavily grated door is a small room used as a boys' dormitory. The one window is protected by cross- bars of iron at least two inches wide, which so effectively cut off the light that on a sunshiny day one could not see across the room clearly enough to tell that six little negroes were huddled before the open fireplace. Two of the boys present on one occasion when the home was visited were little fellows of six and seven, both dependent children, who were locked into this dark room with four older delinquent boys and were released only at meal-time. They had abso- lutely no provision for recreation. The girls' dormitory, an adjoining bed-room, is less heav- ily barred and is consequently somewhat lighter. It is fur- Juvenile Courts 451 nished with two single beds and a bench, but the two girls present on the day of our visit were sleeping together. The dining-room, which all children shared, served also as the bed-room and office of the man probation officer, whose cot and desk filled one side of the room. An oilcloth- covered table and backless benches completed the furnish- ings. Next to the shabbily-equipped kitchen was a dark, ill- ventilated bath-room, with one tub, and in a separate closet, a foul-smelling toilet, which was the only provision for boys and girls, dependents and delinquents and attendants. The back porch, which might have offered a breath of fresh air to the little children, was used for the storage of coal. Altogether, conditions could hardly have been worse. It is accordingly gratifying to learn that a committee of colored people called together at the suggestion of the juve- nile court judge, have definitely decided to improve the sit- uation by an entire change of location and administration. Procedure Complaints are handled by the chief probation officer in person and every effort is made to settle matters satisfac- torily by informal conference without bringing the case to court. Because of inadequate clerical assistance records were not so kept during 1919 that it is possible to tell how many of these unofficial hearings were held. No complaints are accepted over the telephone. The complainant must appear in person and it has frequently been found that between the house and the court anger cools and annoyances assume a less serious aspect. The clerk makes out the petition and issues the war- rants ; assigns a date for the hearing and places the case on the docket. He then types, in duplicate, a card, which gives Name, Address, Age, Grade,- School (of child). Name, Ad- dress (of complainant) , Charge, Arresting Officer, and, un- der Remarks, a brief statement of the charges. One copy of this card goes to the file prepared for the judge ; the other to the chief probation officer, who hands it to a member of her 452 Child Welfare in Tennessee staff for investigation. Upon this card, the judge, at the hearing, writes his orders of disposition, and from it the permanent record is compiled. Court sessions are held regularly four times a week. Saturday morning is reserved for colored cases; Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for the white. Parents or guardians are always required to attend the hearings, which are entirely private. A child may, if his parents wish, be represented by counsel, but the probation officer tries to make it clear, when the papers are served, that it is quite unnecessary to go to the expense of hiring a lawyer. News- paper reporters are excluded. The conduct of the hearing, while informal, is dignified and orderly. The chief probation officer sits at a table to the right of the judge; the clerk to her left. The children, with their parents and the witnesses, are sworn. No matter how trivial the charge, the hearing is always conducted in a very serious way, for the purpose of inspiring the child with a wholesome respect for the court, and an especial effort is made to impress the parents with their responsi- bility and to enlist their co-operation in carrying out the orders of disposition. Probation Service In discussing the probation service at the Memphis court it must be remembered that prior to the election of the present city administration the court, once considered the best in the South, had passed through a series of political attacks in which its staff was depleted and the efficiency of its work greatly impaired. During 1919, the year whose records were studied, the clinic had been closed, there had been, most of the time, no man probation officer, only one woman officer free for field work and no stenographer except the clerk, who -was fully occupied with his own duties in keeping up the court records and handling all moneys for the court. Naturally, under such conditions, effective pro- bation service was out of the question. It was impossible to continue thorough investigations prior to the hearing, the supervision of the children on probation or the good Juvenile Courts 453 system of records, the value of which the officers fully recog- nized. The coming of the new administration brought an imme- diate increase in staff and a reorganization of the work, and the plans which were under way for developing a corps of efficient officers offer suggestions to the other special courts. A series of late affernoon staff conferences was held at which the purpose and methods of juvenile court procedure, the technic of investigation, probationary supervision and record-keeping, and the best way to use the social agencies in the community were discussed. The National Child Labor ' Committee's agent on juvenile courts spent two weeks with the staff, on invitation of the judge, assisting in this work and in planning a revision of the social records, going out with the newly-appointed probation officers on investiga- tions, reviewing with them their written reports of their findings and, in general making those suggestions as to pro- cedure which were calculated to restore the former stand- ards of the court. The staff meetings are to be continued and a system of daily reporting from each officer is to be instituted. With so small a probation staff as Memphis still has-, a geographical districting of the city is not possible, and children are assigned to officers on the basis of sex and color. White girls and little boys go to the woman officer, the older white boys.to the man, and all the colored children, both boys and girls, to the colored man officer. In the future only women officers are to escort girls to institutions. Probation is for an indeterminate period and the officer dismisses the child without requiring a formal appearance at court. Children must report to their officer at the court at stated times, once a week, and must then present a card signed by their school teachers, giving their records for attendance, scholarship and deportment. Each officer must, in addition, visit his probationers in their homes, and the aim of the court is to have such visits made at least once a month. Brief records of all visits and reports are kept on the social history sheet, which is filed with the permanent record of each child. If the child is illegally employed it is 454 Child Welfare in Tennessee made a cTondition of probation that he return to school or secure a work permit. If he cannot be induced to remain in school and is eligible for a work permit, help is given him in securing employment of the right sort, but particular emphasis is laid by the court on the value of an education. The attention of the nearest pastor, pr;est or rabbi is called to children of similar faith whose ethical training is being neglected, and so far as the recreational resources of Mem- phis permit, -they are brought to bear upon the situation. These are the ideals toward which the Memphis court is working ; they can only be maintained, as the volume of business increases, if the city increases its appropriation. Financial Statement The Memphis court is supported entirely by the city of Memphis, but it administers also an appropriation of $10,000 made by Shelby County annually for mothers' pensions. The financial statement of the court for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1919, shows a total expenditure of $20,131.76, of which $9,954.85 went for salaries and $10,176.91 for expenses. This figure does not include the pension money. The expenses occurred mainly in connection with the two detention homes and included the serving of 28,592 meals, and the provision of heat, light and clothing. Records and Reports No annual report is published by the Memphis court, but a statistical statement compiled from the daily records of court and detention homes is presented to the city com- missioners. The totals in this report do not correspond to the totals in our statistical tables for the year, since the former are based on petitions filed, the later on the actual number of children whose cases were disposed of during 1919. The table which follows shows that during 1919 an average of 100 petitions a month were filed in the Memphis court, of which the great majority were juvenile cases. There is a considerable fluctuation from month to month, with the smallest number of cases in April and the highest in August. The summer vacation months and the first two months of the school year when the compulsory attendance Juvenile Courts 455 law should be, but is not being, enforced, show a uniformly higher number of petitions than the winter months, when the streets are not in such active competition with the schools. The need of extended playground activities is evi- dent. It is clear also that fairness to the colored child demands an increase in the number of colored probation officers, for the one colored officer had 580 cases upon his hands, while the two white officers together had 644. TABLE L PETITIONS FILED IN MEMPHIS JUVENILE COURT, JANUARY 1, 1919, to DECEMBER 31, 1919. Wliite Cases. Colored Cases. Non- Non 1919. Dep. Del. sup. Mo. Pen. Dep. Del. sup. .Total January .... 19 37 4 3 4 31 6 104 February ... 13 21 5 . ., 1 28 8 76 March 12 37 2 2 12 36 6 107 April 7 22 . . 2 2 33 3 69 May 9 25 4 1 5 40 5 89 June 3 26 3 1 3 36 8 80 July 15 44 6 3 3 41 11 123 August 12 44 7 .. 1 57 12 133 September ..25 36 8 3 .. 36 11 119 October 10 46 16 4 2 26 14 118 November ..10 24 17 1 17 37 9 116 December . . 9 32 13 1 3 22 11 91 144 394 85 21 53 423 104 1,224 Contempt Cases — November ." ^ „ December ^ ^ Total cases ■ 1'22''' The blank forms provided by the Memphis court for in- vestigation reports and family record sheets were copied from the forms in use at the Chicago court. The use of both had been practically abandoned during 1919, because of inadequacy of staff. It is probable that the investigation sheet of the New York City Children's Court, with certain modifications, will replace these forms when the present supply is exhausted. Aside from the court papers the only information on file for children received during 1919 con- sisted of the facts entered on the Interview Blank, which included: Name, Sex, Age, Address, Ward, Age, Date of 456 Child Welfare in Tennessee Birth, Nationality, Church, Date and Hour of Apprehen- sion, Charge, Petitioner, School, Teacher, Room, Employed at, Wages, Ever Been in an Institution, What, How Long, and, for both parents. Name, Nationality, Religion, Occupa- tion, followed by a space for remarks. These interview blanks were almost without exception completely filled out and were always found filed with the court papers. For- merly the social histories and the legal papers were kept in separate files and the former were considered the private property of the court. The clerk keeps two permanent record books, the minute book and the reference docket. The minute book contains a brief record of each day's business, while the reference docket gives information on the following points for each child: Charge, Name, Residence, Age, Sex, Color, Parent or Guardian, Residence, Remarks, Orders and Proceedings. The number given to the child in this docket is the number under which his record and papers are filed. The only detention home record is a daily roll-call book in which are entered the total number of meals served each child for each day of his stay. Formerly an excellent physi- cal examination record was on file for each child admitted, and with the reorganization of the clinic these forms will once more come into use. Advisory Committee A municipal ordinance passed January 28, 1910, estab- lished an advisory board for the Memphis Juvenile Court. The three members are appointed by the city conunissioners upon nomination of the mayor, for a term of one year. Each member receives a nominal salary of $100 yearly. The duties of the board were to select a suitable place for the detention home, to study methods of construction and main- taining such homes elsewhere and to devise regulations for the operation of the Memphis institution. After the home should be ready for occupancy, the board were to inspect it from time to time and to make recommendations for its management. Juvenile Courts 457 The original board, of which Mrs. Mary B. West was sec- retary, set to work vigorously and to their efforts Memphis owes its present plant. They called into consultation repre- sentatives of the best organized courts in the country, vis- ited in person good detention homes of other cities and planned the remodeling of an old schoolhouse for the pur- pose so wisely that all the essentials of detention home con- struction were obtained at a minimum cost. The present board, which was appointed in January, 1920, consists of a prominent lawyer, a representative of organized labor and a representative of the women's clubs. The board has met regularly, at least once a month, and has taken an active interest in the reorganization of the court work. NASHVILLE.* The capital of Tennessee and its second largest city is located on both sides of the Cumberland River, which gives it steamboat connections with the Ohio and the Mississippi. While its manufacture of lumber and phosphate, shoe,'', ilour, cotton and woolen products give it a position of com- mercial importance, it is best known as an educational cen- ter. The "Athens of the South" is the seat of Vanderbilt University, the Peabody College for Teachers, and Fisk University, besides various preparatory schools. There is accordingly in the community a large body of trained and socially-minded people, from whom the juvenile court might well derive great assistance. But it is a matter of general comment that little co- operation exists in Nashville, either among different groups of citizenst or among social agencies. No social service * Since this report was written a new judge has heen appointed an— * Pig t3£2 --< Q CD t-; t' 00 05 05 O in '^ i> vQ ■ • ■ jH -M m OS t- a; 3 'goo C5 t- E5^ CO O rH U3 O (M O iH 1> ■^_ Tj( o in o in 00 O 1^- 00 00 00 CO 00 CO CO <-f (M OS t- o> ■* 5D rH -a c . s (^ . ; CD O I S^'05 0)1 a. Q O Eh t-H o o cj 00 CO I N * i-i I (M in CO I I iH t- rH (M CO ■* I o m 05 ^^\ (N Cq (35 CO "^ CO m rH rH in CO t- co oa "^ CO 00 (N O CO rH N (M CO rH Cti O O ni u Si 0) a> ai xn !h U 0) 1 m 1. 1 i s g a ^ O H 494 Child Welfare in Tennessee Again a wide difference appears between the races, 25 per cent of the white children coming as dependent or neg- lected, while only 6 per cent of the negroes were so classi- fied. Among the delinquent girls the proportion of colored to white is two to three ; among the dependent it is one to ten ; and the proportion is almost exactly the same between the boys of the same groups. Obviously this is not due to greater wealth among the colored race, but in part to a lack of institutions for dependent negro children and even more largely to the custom which prevails among the col- ored people of taking orphaned or stray children into their own families. A negro woman on her death-bed frequently parcels out her children among her friends, who give the orphans what their own children receive, but whose kind- liness cannot wholly make up for the lack of food, clothing and education which is apt to result. In view of the fact that Tennessee has no institution for delinquent colored girls it is interesting to note that 120 of them appeared before the courts in 1919. Not all, of course, would have been subjects for institutional care, but if the same proportion of commitment held good with them, as held over the state, about one-third would have been so disposed of. Four were sent to institutions outside the state. The offenses with which delinquent children are charged throw light not only on themselves but on the cities in which they live. Arrests for truancy mean that someone is trying to enforce the compulsory education law; arrests for "jumping cars" may mean a "safety first" campaign. Disorderly conduct and incorrigibility are blanket terms which cover a multitude of sins and may reflect sudden spasms of industry on the part of the police. The table which follows shows for each city separately and for the state as a whole the total number of children arrested for certain offenses, and the relationship which arrests for each offense bear to the total number of ar- rests in each court. The proportions shown by the grand total are not markedly different from those usually found in similar tabulation: Juvenile Courts 495 1U3D 19A -it-io MIM, ]B;0; pUBJf) (M(MO to % s;inoo 1^5 I«^oi I C-CD I CO o oc c>i 00 -1 ca r-I to CO "M t- ' CO o mm-* (M o 1-t t> to w o 1 O 5D 00 K3 rH ' ■* C- OIM 1 N-* 1 00 C^CI L- O 7^ --; o o c:j lO iH Tl' r-H ' ' 'oi 0> CO t- (M CO 05 I CO lo o lo m lo I Oi iH CM T-H iH (M rH ■tl" 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 It--* 1 1 1 lO lOJ ItOOO 1 1 IrH to 1 1 1 1U93 J3J 1 lira 1 1"= LO ic in r-H en CO ■ to ' -^ 00 (N ICl lO 1 m 1 • 1 * 1 1 1 TOox 1 ICO 1 1"* 1 1 iH tH rH t-inoO T-H rH 00 rH 1 rH 1 1 1 OJCO 1 T-l 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 m to 1 1 tH I 1 1 1 1 1 NIO rH 1 1 rH t- 1 1 ;U3D J9J lOOO IcooJ '- tH t-;0 'co' IIO (N to ' CO 00. U5 lO 1 o N ■ 1 IM ' le^ox IINOa H-l c- 1 COM in 1 (M lOO 1 lO 1 rH COO (N 1 OOrH 1 \ Ci "^ T-i Oi \a 1 (M 1 'IOCO-* 1 1 1 OS 1 T-t 1 1 tOrH 1 CO ITJI O 1 1 iH 1 1 1 1 ;uaD jaj |co^ t^to I0 10 05 Ico 'co* ' CO lO Tf OJ CO ■ rH Tf rH IB^OX i(MO KNCO 1 CO • lO. rH 7-< 'r-' ■* rH l.(N C0# 1 N ' .rHiCO o (M (M O 1 1 ItH 1 lOlO 1 1 C-iH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 to ■'^J^ to (N CO rH (N 00 rH 1 1 %uso aaj -.tcgto "to 00 (M 00 oo_ -*_ 00 ffq to ' 03 ' 00 CO CO CO 00 to Ti; o r-Ioq 'co l^^ox C^JtHIM co-^ ■* 05 IM Tjl to C- ■* ■* rHtO OS CO (M lO i-H Tt 00 OS T-l rH THINGS a) o ■a 0) 'rt "^ ij» u w O »^ o be a 'So |.& I- o . a> fH +5 5 i3 ra S oOfi O OlMINrH (M rHNCO MfiMS f>.l=! ■ s >>.S I to lOS I'* 1-1 O fH m O &o W) bo M fee ap-g ■3 >>.s S o P< ^ (5 ts o E-i PL, 1-1 * c (8WH Sm 3 r» rt 5 tS . ft . 1 r .5 M 1-4 CQ O w S -ft ^ -3.2 (MIM II CO I «Oi-l q l(N I IN ICOCQIN ■* IlO I iH I I I to O IN lOCONr-IIMOliHt-OC-OS COrHTJ" i-l lOiH O iH T-l to lU .2™ a)T3 H a; 0) ft fti. .5 S^ ffl ^1 QJ ■y ft ft ft o ^ o o o^ gHEHHfW 3 MTS^-U S t,, o 01 Q ■a S . O t- r I till CD I I I I I I 50 N tH I I. I I I I la i-iej-i ■^to •-I . "S t— I M o „ 8 H W a) ^^ o ft ujNto 00 thioihm nn ic mi"50ot- t-eS 6 ' p at ^^ ti 0,313 e s fl 5 Ts g 13 a B a g [5 -g -S o ft ft ft^r^j o o o o g - S S S 0) ^ Q ftS <^B o +s 5* ft ^. B t, S s f^ o o » a V o Juvenile Courts 499 KNOXVIIXcE— TABLE III. Disposition by Sex, Color and Classlflcation. delinquent. Dependent. Male. Female. Male. Female. W. C. Total Commitment : State Institutions: State Train. & Agri. School. 40 26 14 . . Tenn. Industrial School 15 5 .. 1 Vocational School for Girls. 12 . . . . 11 County institutions: Knox County Ind. School . . 89 29 17 6 . Private Institutions: In Knoxville — Baby Home 16 . . . .* . . Camp H;om.e 1 . . . . 1 Church Orphanage 3 St. John's Orphanage .... 1 Outside KnoxviUe — Baptist Orph., Nashville. 1 House of Good Shepherd, Louisville 3 . . . . 3 House of Good Shepherd, Carthage, Ohio 4 Private Instltu., Illinois . . 2 Private Insti., not stated. 1 Semi-Private : Tenn. Ch. Home Society ... 7 Probation: To probation officer 24 12 6 2 To parents or relatives 47 35 9 . . To private individual 34 22 4 . . To truant officer 32 19 12 1 To police 3 . . 3 . . Not stated 21 12 4 1 To teacher 3 3 . . . . Placed out 15 3 1 .. Fined 13 4 9 .. Restitution ordered 1 l • • Transferred to Criminal Court. 8 5 12 Sentence suspended 22 10 7 3 Not guilty 7 5 2 .. MSscellaneous 31 8 1 7 Not stated 5 2 2 1 Dismissed 53 29 8 3 W. C. "W. c. w. c. 6 21 11 Totals 514 229 101 42 26 56 3 50 500 Child Welfare in Tennessee chattanooga— table iii. Disposition by Sex Color and Classification. • Total. W. C. W. C. W. C. W. C. Delinquent. Dependent. Male. Female. Male. Female. Commitmient; State Institutions; State Train. & Agri. School. 15 1 14 Tenn. Industrial School 5 1 •• 1.. 2.. 1.. County Institutions: County Reform School 61 10 24 4 . . 16 1 6 . . Private Institutions: In Chattanooga: Children's Refuge 3 1 1 .. 1 .. Crittenden Home 2 .. 1 , 1 .,. Fatten Home 2 . . . . 2 Steele Orphanage 1 1 • ■ • • Vine Street Orphinage. . 6 3.. 3.. Outside Chattanooga: House of Good Shepherd. 1 - . • . 1 Semi-Private Institutions: Tenn. Ch. Home Society Probation: To parents or relatives 6 4 2 To private Individual 7 6 .. 1 Not stated 53 28 23 . . 2 Sentence suspended 1 1 Passed, continued or pending.. 6 2 2.. 2 Dismissed 14 4 2 7 1 Not stated 8 2 5 1 .. Miscellaneous 3 2 1 ■• Returned home (runaway) ... 3 .. .. 1 2 .. Jail 10 .. .. 10 Married 1 . . 1 Returned home 1 1 With policeman 1 1 Brlanger Hospital 1 • • 1 Totals 211 62 72 29 5 25 2 16 . . 2* 213 Disposition of Delinquent Children Four- types of disposition account for the majority of the delinquent children who appear before the juvenile courts in Tennessee. They are: commitment, probation, placing-out and dismissal. The following table, which is based on the five^ preceding ones, shows for the delinquent children the percentage of certain specified dispositions: ♦Add i neglect cases under miscellaneous. Juvenile Courts 501 disposition by percentages (delinquent) Rural Memphis Nashville Knoxville Chattanooga Courts Total % Total % Total % Total % Total % Commitment 167 33.6 226 33.1 123 30.9 60 35 8 63 38 5 Probation 154 31.4 161 23.5 157 39.4 66 39.3 28 13'.1 Placed out 6 .8 4 1.0 . . . . 4 13 Dismissed 140 28.2 204 29.9 41 10.3 14 8.4 20' 9.3 Cont. or pending. 16 3.2 1 6 3.6 1 4 Other 19 3.8 83 12.1 73 18.3 22 12.6 76 37.2 Totals 496 99.8 681 99.4 898 99.9 168 99.7 192 99.8 This table must be studied in connection with those pre- ceding and with the machinery of the local courts previ- ously described clearly in mind. So studied^ it throws much light on conditions which need changing. Juvenile court judges need to be converted to a realiza- tion of the value of the indeterminate sentence. Memphis was the only court where in 1919 no other sort of commit- ment order was signed. In Chattanooga six sentences were indeterminate within certain limits, as "from one to six years." Elsewhere the courts were divided in practice, giving 139 sentences for a definite term and 70 for an in- determinate period. To have the power to commit a child to an institution for one year only is in principle as harm- ful as the practice of retaining jurisdiction over children committed to institutions and for the same reason. The courts should uniformly adopt the custom of the indeter- minate commitment. The percentage of commitment is naturally much high- er for the unorganized rural courts than for the city courts which have probation service. This may be accounted for in part by the fact that city children are arrested for more trivial offenses than country children who have no city ordinances to consider and no policemen dogging their steps. But the comparison of the offenses for which the two groups were arrested shows little difference in the seri- ousness of the charge. The percentage of commitment is high and the percentage of probation low, even in the or- ganized courts, as compared with similar percentages from other cities. The Manhattan Branch of the New York City Children's Court in 1918 committed to institutions 11.7 per 502 Child Welfare in Tennessee cent of the children adjudged delinquent who were brought before the judge for sentence, while 64.4 per cent were placed on probation. Probation is, moreover, a term very loosely applied by Tennessee courts. Properly used it indicates supervision by someone officially connected with the juvenile court and the imposition of certain conditions upon the child, among which reporting to the court at stated intervals is usually included. But as used in Tennessee, it frequently means that parents or relatives are supposed to give probationary oversight, or that the child is entrusted to the care of some unrelated private individual. In other cases the records do not indicate that the child was placed on probation to anyone in particular. Certain of the 53 children so classi- fied in Chattanooga were probably nominally under the charge of the probation officer. The following table shows for the four large cities of Tennessee the relative proportions of the types of proba- tion provided: DELINQUENT CHILDREN. Analysis of Probation — Pour Cities. Mtemphis Nashville Knoxville Chattanooga Placed on Probation Total % Total % Total % Total % To court 120 78.0 22 13.5 23 14.6 To parents or relatives. 5 3.0 94 58.0 47 30.0 6 9.1 To private individuals.. 29 19.0 16 9.8 28 17.8 7 10.6 Not stated to whom 30 18.5 21 13.4 53 S0.3 To police, truant officer, etc . . . . . . 38 24.2 Total 154 100.0 162 99.8 157 100.0 66 100.0 Memphis alone makes a creditable showing so far as official probation, or probation to the court, is concerned. That Nashville, with the largest staff in the state, should have placed almost 60 per cent of its probationers in the care of their families alone, which is really not probation at all, raises a serious question as to the efficiency of the court. The value of the services which the attendance de- partment of the Knoxville city schools is rendering to the Knoxville court appears in the fact that nearly one-fourth of the children on probation are turned over to them for supervision. Juvenile Courts 503 This table, combined with the description of methods of probation previously given, is the clearest possible dem- onstration of the vi^eak spot in juvenile court work in Ten- nessee today— the probation service. Until the courts are ready to do sound case-work they cannot win the respect of other social agencies or of the community itself, and they cannot do sound case-work when they hand over a fundamental part of the probation service to people who have no connection with the court. The percentage of cases dismissed on hearing is very high in Memphis and Nashville. This may indicate lack of interest on the part of the judge or undue zeal on the part of the police, who may be arresting children for trivial offenses, but it clearly shows the need for a better system of handling complaints. Placing-out means finding priv.ate family homes in which children will be received without charge, sometimes with a view to adoption, sometimes in return for the serv- ices they can render. Home-finding is an administrative and not a judicial function. It demands skilled technique in selecting the right child for the right home, a technique such as few probation officers possess and requires con- tinued oversight through a period of years such as few courts are able to give. It is, fortunately, not a means of disposition .widely followed among the Tennessee courts from which reports were secured, but even its occasional use is to be regretted. There is no juvenile court in Ten- nessee at present with a staff fitted to perform this re- sponsible and difficult service in addition to discharging its own legitimate functions. The Child Welfare Act, which undertakes to bring all child-placing activities in the state under the supervision of the Board of State Charities, fails to mention the juvenile courts in its list of agencies, insti- tutions and individuals which are forbidden to engage in child-placing unless certificated by the Board. The omis- sion is doubtless due to the fact that juvenile courts are not, and should not be, generally thought of as child-placing agencies, but until the Tennessee Children's Home Society raises the age limit at, which it will receive children and 504 Child Welfare in Tennessee until some scheme of home-finding is devised for the col- ored children the juvenile courts will continue to do a small amount of this work. They should be compelled to conform to the same standards of home-finding work which the Board imposes on other agencies. It is likely that the number of colored children noted in the Nashville table as being placed-out in family homes is somewhat under the real number so placed during the year because it is not uncommon to find on the commit- ment papers to the colored detention home the words "to be placed out." The records of the detention home do not show how many of the children actually found homes. A colored physician who lives in a nearby town, assists in finding homes for negro children among people of their own race. The court itself placed more white children than it turned over to the Tennessee Children's Home Society. No pretense is made of supervising either white or colored children after placement and the preliminary investigation of the foster-home is frequently made entirely by corre- spondence. No contract of any sort is signed by the foster- parents. On certain of the detailed tables are listed forms of disposition which indicate a failure on the part of the judges fully to comprehend the ideals of juvenile court pro- cedure. Restitution on the installment plan is generally regarded as a useful way of impressing upon a child the value of property and the need of making good any damage one does, but the custom of fining presents no such advan- tage. A fine must be paid in one lump sum, which usually means that the parent turns over the money ; the boys get a sense of having bought immunity; and the experience, once over, is apt to leave no impression. On the other hand, if a child is too poor to pay his fine, the court must either remit the punishment, which is bad, or send the child to jail, which is worse. Thirty-seven children were reported as having been fined during 1919. Nor does the order that a child be whipped by his parents indicate an effective conclusion to a juvenile court hearing. Corporal punishment is forbidden by the best Juvenile Courts 505 established school systems of the country. It is perhaps of significance to know that all the whippings occurred in one court and that the judge of this court, which in 1919 handled more children than any other court outside the four cities, does not favor the establishment of probation service and has indeed refused the offer of the Red Cross to give him volunteer help. Disposition of Dependent Children Nearly two-thirds of the dependent children before the juvenile courts from which reports were obtained were im- mediately committed to some institution or home-finding agency. Little effort seems to have been made anywhere except in Memphis to re-establish the families represented. Either they were found not dependent and dismissed, or the children were taken. Only a careful study of the individual cases would determine in how many instances the commit- ment was justifiable, but many isolated instances were re- ported to the investigators where injustice had clearly been done. Such was the story of the four children committed' last year to a certain county industrial school. A young father, a widower, placed his two little boys in the school and returned a few weeks later with a yo;mg widow who secured the commitment of two small daughters. Neither parent was under court order to pay anything and neither did pay, although both were well-dressed and apparently prosperous. After several months they returned, said they were married, and offered to take the two boys who were getting old enough to be useful, but refused to take the girls who were younger and badly in need of a mother's care. The superintendent refused to let them take any unless they would take all. This the parents refused to do and they have never been heard from since. Table XIV shows the relative use of different methods of disposition for the dependent and neglected group as reported : 506 Child Welfare in Tennessee disposition by percentages (dbpende^^t and neg- LECTBO). Rural Memphis Nashville Knoxville Chattanooga Courts Total % Commitnli*nt, 55 48.6 Probation 36 31.8 Placed out 1 .8 Dismissed '. . 17 15.0 Cont. or pending. 3 2.6 Other 1 .8 Totals 113 99.6 Total % 64 64.0 2 2.0 11 11.0 11 11.0 3 3.0 9 9.0 lOO 100.0 Total % 72 62.0 7 6.0 11 9.4 12 10.3 Total % 36 80.0 Total % 19 79.1 14 12.0 116 99.7 9 20.0 45 100.0 5 20.8 24 99.9 Unlike delinquent children, over whom the juvenile court exercises exclusive jurisdiction, dependent children may legally be handled by other public agencies. They may be apprenticed under the old law which dates back to colonial days or they may be committed to the county alms- house. Returns to the questionnaire sent out by the Depart- ment of State Charities in 1920 brought replies from 54 counties. Of these, 43 apprenticed no children and 9 gave no information on this point. One county, Jackson, ap- prenticed four children, age, sex and color not stated, and Lincoln County bourid out one colored boy of 15. While the law is evidently rarely used, its existence upon the statute books always presents possibilities of harm and it should be repealed. The Department of State Charities yearly receives re- ports from the various counties of the state relative to their jails and almshouses. For the year 1919, 86 out of the 96 counties had reports on file. Twenty-three counties stated that children had been kept in the county home at one time or another during the year. The largest number reported were 13 from Polk County; 10 from Jefferson County; and 7 each from Knox, Monroe and Davidson. Visits to the county homes in Shelby, Davidson, Knox and Hamilton counties found no children present in the Shelby County Home except a patient in the tuberculosis hospital, which is only temporarily located on the Home grounds; 4 children in the Knox County Home; 4 in the Davidson County institution; and one in the Hamilton Juvenile Courts 507 County Asylum. Only one of the eight children was ap- parently normal, but this child was born of a feeble-minded mother. The other eight represented a pitiful assortment of bodily and mental defect. One little girl, aged about 6 or 7, is the illegitimate child of an imbecile mother who is also an inmate of the county home. The child is known as the "Wild Girl," because she has a curious way, if left untied, of running at top speed, in any direction she hap- pens to start, until she falls to the ground exhausted. She makes strange, animal-like noises instead of talking and as she sits perched upon the back of the chair to which she is fastened resembles nothing so much as a large monkey. The superintendent of the county home said he was think- ing of selling the girl to a carnival, "where she could make good money" by posing as an aborigine. The feeble-minded children at the Davidson County Home were receiving excellent care, but the plight of this poor child and the others of the same type at the Knox County Home was pitiable. The one little boy in the Ham- ilton County Asylum had been adjudged insane and was confined in a large common room with the insane men. The presence of these unfortunate children at the coun- ty homes, where they do not belong and where they can rarely get care of the right sort, emphasizes the need of hastening the new state school for the feeble-minded. Adults Before the Juvenile Courts The Tennessee law governing non-support gives pri- mary jurisdiction to the juvenile court, whether or not there are children involved. It is a misdemeanor for a, husband to fail to provide for his wife or to leave her desti- tute or in danger of becoming a public charge. Action is begun by swearing out a warrant in the juvenile court. If the defendant pleads guilty, the judge may bond the man to make regular payments to his wife, but if he pleads not guilty, the judge can only bind him over to the grand jury, the bond being fixed at $1,000. If a husband ordered by the juvenile court to make payments to his wife fails to do so, his bond may be for- feited and expended for the benefit of his wife, or he may 508 Child Welfare in Tennessee be arrested and sent to the workhouse, or he may be ar- rested and held for the action of the grand jury. It is also a misdemeanor for any person legally charge- able with the care of a child under 16 to fail to provide for it and the juvenile court is given the same jurisdiction and the same power to inflict punishment as in the preceding section. ' The great difficulty in administering these two laws satisfactorily lies in the fact that they compel the transfer to the criminal court of the very persons whose children most need the protection of the juvenile court, the men who plead "not guilty." The necessity of transferring and indeed the right to transfer such cases should be eliminated from the law. Family Courts It is evident that the four Tennessee counties which contain large cities cannot be satisfactorily served by the one probation officer recommended for the rural courts. It IS also evident that they are not being satisfactorily served at present by the special courts created by special legislation. The standards of procedure should be the same for all courts, rural or urban, but the organization of the staffs necessarily differs. The present anomaly of a munici- pal court with a. county- wide jurisdiction must go, and the juvenile court must be given a recognized and assured standing. We recommend that in Shelby, Knox, Davidson and Hamilton counties a special family court be established, to be entirely supported by the county and to exercise a coun- ty-wide jurisdiction; that the judge for this court be elect- ed by the voters of the county at the regular county elec- tions and that his salary be equal to that of a circuit judge. All expenses of the court should be paid from the general funds of the county. The court should exercise original and exclusive juris- diction over delinquent, dependent and neglected children, over desertion, non-Support, divorce, and alimony petition, mothers' pensions, bastardy, adoption and any transaction Juvenile Courts 509 which involves a transfer of the legal guardianship of a .child.* The judge should have the pow^er to appoint and dis- charge probation officers and the staff of detention home and clinics, and should be held responsible to the people for the management thereof. The salaries should be fixed by the county court. The fact that the state-wide law in its revised form will require each county to provide suitable detention rooms for children before the juvenile courts, eliminates the need of repeating this requirement for the special courts which are in all respects except organization to operate according to the state- wide law, and' are to be subject to the same sort of supervision as the rural courts. * The Tennessee Child Welfare Commission concurs in this,' except that it believes that divorce should not be included. CHAPTER VIII. MOTHERS' PENSIONS. BY MABEL BROWN ELLIS The Statute popularly known as the Mothers' Pension Law of Tennessee was pasesd in 1915 under the title of: A Bill for xne Partial Support of Certain Poor Women. The measure was sponsored by Tennessee W. C. T. U., the women's clubs and the Parent-Teachers' Associations, and as originally drawn each county in the state was required to make an appropriation for carrying out the purposes of the act. However, during the passage of the bill through the legislature, "shall" was changed to "may" and the act was made to apply only to counties having courts at present or in the future. The bill was brief and its provisions may be briefly summarized. In every county having a juvenile court, the county court may provide from the general funds of the county a sum not to exceed $4,000 for the partial support of poor mothers whose husbands are dead or are so dis- abled, mentally or physically, as to be unable to support them, and who are the mothers of children under 16 years of age. The maximum monthly grant is fixed at $10 for one child and $5 each for all other children, and if the funds appropriated by the county are insufficient to care for all the applicants, the juvenile court must select those whose need is most urgent. The conditions under which the grant may be made specify that the mother must have been a resident of the county one year and of the state two years, that she must be a fit person, morally, physically and mentally, to bring up her children; that the child must be living with the mother and that the grant must enable the mother to re- 512 Child Welfare in Tennessee main at home with her children when otherwise she would have been compelled to work away from home; that the grant must be necessary to save the children from neglect. The allowance ceases on removal from the county. The juvenile court retains jurisdiction over the child so long as the allowance continues. An amendment to the law by the legislature of 1917 raised the maximum appropriation for Shelby County to $10,000. In 1919, a second state-wide Mothers' Pension Bill was passed which has been held by the Attorney General of the State to be supplementary to the 1915 law and to apply only to counties in which no juvenile courts have been estab- lished by the county courts. This law differs in many ways from the first, which is still in operation in Shelby County. The first applied to women whose husbands are dead or mentally or physically disabled ; the second, to women whose husbands are dead or are prisoners confined in the State penitentiary or asylum. The age of children eligible for grants is under 16 in the former; under 15 in the latter. The second act requires citizenship in the United States, changes the period of residence required to two years in the county and makes no provision for its ceasing if the mother removes from the county. The allowance must be discontinued, however, in case of re-marriage, or if the husband has been a prisoner, upon his discharge. The first act made a lump appropriation of $4,000 for each county; the second provides that the county court may levy a tax, not to exceed two mills on the dollar, annually, on all tax- able property in the county, which tax is to be known as the mothers' pension fund and kept separate from all other taxes. The second act permits a verified petition to be filed by the applicant herself, by any member of the county court or by any other charitable organization within the county. Upon the filing of the petition, the county court must pro- ceed to investigate the circumstances of the case and may make an allowance only when satisfied that the various con- ditions of eligibility have been satisfied. The administra- Mothers' Pensions 513 tion of the grants is placed in the hands of the juvenile court by the first act ; in the county court by the second. Under the terms of the first law, only Shelby County made an appropriation. The maximum of $4,000 soon proved entirely inadequate and the next session of the legis- lature raised the maximum for Shelby County to $10,000. The funds are administered by the juvenile court, and the entire amount is expended for relief, with no deduction for salaries. The court estimates that this amount cares for approximately 40 familes during a year, which would make the grants average slightly over $20 a month. During 1919, 40 mothers and 134 children were on the pension list. There is always a long waiting list. No special form of procedure was set forth in the first mothers' pension law, but since jurisdiction was given to the juvenile courts, the regular juvenile court procedure has naturally been followed. Action is begun by filing a petition in which the circumstances of the applicant are set forth ; an investigation follows ; and the petition is granted or denied at a regular juvenile court hearing. The disad- vantages under which the Memphis court suffered during 1919, applied with double force to its pension work, for the supervision of pensioned families is not emergency service like the handling of delinquent children, and when a staff is overburdened only the emergency demands can receive attention. Practically no supervisory visits were paid to pensioned women ; school reports were not received for the children ; no records were kept except the petition and the investigation report; and the investigations themselves were of necessity hurriedly made and not thorough. The court has not even now the staff necessary to handle the pension work satisfactorily. It needs an officer, prefer- ably a woman with training in household management, to devote her entire time to work with the pensioned mothers and children and to the investigation of new petitions. A competent person of this type would greatly increase the value of the county appropriation by seeing that the chil- dren for whose benefit the money is given are really profit- ing by it. 514 Child Welfare in Tennessee Of the 54 rural courts which replied to the question- naire inquiry of the Department of State Charities in 1920, three reported that appropriations had been made under the terms of the mothers' pension law of 1919. Williamson County has, since January, 1920, granted $15 a month to a woman with five children under 16, whose husband is in an insane asylum ; the judge adds that the woman also re- ceives aid from the Red Cross and other sources. Decatur County reports that in April, 1920, the court appropriated $5 a week until the next quarterly court for the benefit of a widow with six children whose ages range from 12 to 2 years. The Madison County court has an appropriation of $1,000 a year, and aids eight mothers at the rate of $10 a month and one at the rate of $12.50. No report is given of the numbers or ages of the children in these families. Courts without probation service have naturally no means of making thorough investigations or maintaining super- visory oversight. Thus Tennessee, in spite of her two laws, has pensions available in only four counties, and outside of Shelby Coun- ty, no appropriations of large size and no machinery for administration. What happens to women and children in the other 92 counties ? Tennessee's scheme of public charities includes both in- door and outdoor relief. Davidson County has created a Charities Commision which is supported by a special tax "not to exceed two mills on the dollar," and which adminis- ters all outdoor relief in the county. Elsewhere, the county court passes upon applications for help, presented usually by the magistrates of the district in which the applicant lives. In some counties the magistrates give outright and their requisitions are honored by the county court. The grants made are without exception small and nowhere is a person with special training for the work charged with the administration of the county funds. Neither the county court nor the juvenile court as at present constituted offer a promising foundation on which to build a sound administration of mothers' pensions. But if the proposed revision of the juvenile court law goes into Mothers' Pensions 515 effect and if the proposed combination of the positions of probation officer and compulsory attendance officer takes place, the incumbent of the joint office will be the person best fitted to administer mothers' pensions also, for his daily round of duties will bring him directly into contact with those women whose need of financial assistance is genuine and whose ability to give good care to their chil- dren is assured. He will meet the need for pensions when women in financial distress plead that an employment cer- tificate be given a child below grade or unfit physically to go to work; or when mothers beg the juvenile court judge to commit their children to an institution where at least food and clothing can be obtained. He needs for all his work the same foundation of careful case-study and the same knowledge of agencies available for help. With pro- bation officers of the right sort, the juvenile courts can handle applications for pensions and we believe that Ten- nessee at present is in more acute need of help in the field of compulsory attendance and juvenile court work than in the field of poor relief. Granted, then, that the administration of the pensions shall remain in the hands of the juvenile courts, how shall Tennessee make the help which she professes to give, truly effective ? The pension law, as it stands, is obviously defective in many particulars. It is optional, instead of compulsory; the class of women eligible for pensions needs extension; the age at which children cease to be eligible should cor- respond to the age at which children may legally go to work; the maximum grant which may be made per child is absurdly inadequate; and the law provides no means whatever of supervising the expenditure of funds, once the pension is granted. Ten thousand dollars is obviously an insufficient appropriation for Shelby County and the new law applying to counties without special courts, and limit- ing the tax to two per cent on the taxable property will straightway create the same inequalities which have hampered the rural school development of the state. There should be a way of equalizing, to some degree, the amounts 516 Child Welfare in Tennessee available, on a basis of population, rather than a basis of wealth. A recently published report of the Children's Bureau* notes a distinct tendency in recent laws toward state aid and state supervision, which are now available in approxi- mately one-fourth of the 39 states which have enacted mothers' pension laws. We recommend that each county in Tennessee be required to make an appropriation for the support of indigent children in their own homes under their mother's care; that the state be required to increase by one-third any appropriation thus made and that any county desiring to receive state aid shall be required to administer the pensions according to certain standards to be devised by the Department of State Charities. Recommendation has already been made that the staff of the Department of State Charities be enlarged by the addition of some person specially adapted to develop and standardize the juvenile court work. The supervision of the local administration of mothers' pensions, which will be one of the activities of the juvenile court will naturally fall to this person. It will be his duty to see that the pro- bation officers understand and follow the standards set up for them by the Department of State Charities and these standards will certainly include adequate investigation of all applications, after-supervision and the use of satisfac- tory records. It should be compulsory upon every county court in the state to honor the requisition of the juvenile court judge upon the county treasury for the payment of allowances to mothers, and no maximum or minimum should be set by the law to the amount which a county may appropriate. However, public opinion will probably demand that a limit be set to the grants per child. We recommend that the maximum for the first child be raised from $10 to $25 and that for each succeeding child the maximum be raised from $5 to $15. The age limit should be fixed at 17 years, to cor- * Laws relative to Mothers' Pensions — Legal Series No. 4, Children's Bureau Publication No. 63. Mothers' Pensions 517 respond with the school attendances and child labor laws, but the law should also provide that no pension be allowed for the benefit of any child eligible for a work permit un- less the child is in regular attendance at school. The class of women eligible for the pension should not be limited, as at present, to those whose husbands are dead, or imprisoned or incapacitated. The term "all mothers" is sufficient, and this term has been in other states inter- preted to include the deserted wife, the unmarried mother and the expectant mother. CHAPTER IX. INSTITUTIONS BY SARA A. BROWN Seventy-nine years ago, there was founded in Tennessee an institution for "the care and education of orphan and homeless children." Four years later; there was founded another institution, "to provide a home for white children not properly cared for, and to procure good homes." There are forty institutions in the state embodying the principles and purposes of those founded three-quarters of a century ago, having as common aim the care and education of the child. Some believe it serves the best interest of the child to keep him in an institution for a long period of years under constant supervision. Others believe it serves his best interest to keep him only until he can be prepared for and placed in a carefully selected family home where, as a member of the family group, he lives a normal and well- rounded life. In 1844, the state established a School for the Blind, and in 1845 a School for the Deaf and Dumb. The state now maintains five institutions caring for children, counties maintain three, cities one, and private philanthropy thirty- one. Private institutions are how bearing the chief burden of responsibility for the care of the child. Slowly all the people, as represented through public officials and through tax funds, are assuming more responsibility, and are mak- ing small grants from public funds to private institutions until such time as public opinion and adequate finances enable public officials to establish and conduct public insti- tutions on a high standard of efficiency, free from political fluctuation and political influence. Eleven private institu- tions are receiving subsidies from public funds: one from the state, six from the county only, one from the city only, 520 Child Welfare in Tennessee and three from both county and city. As a temporary measure, this co-operation is expedient, but as rapidly as public programs can be developed, private institutions should confine their efforts to developing the private re- sources of the state, blazing trails just a little farther that the public may follow. The defective child is receiving less consideration than either the dependent or the delinquent. Three schools are provided for him, two by the state and one by a private citizen. The dependent child only is received in twenty- five private institutions; the delinquent only in two state institutions; while both dependent and delinquent are re- ceived in five institutions : one state, three coimty, and one private. Five private homes are maintained for maternity care. The negro child is received in eight institutions: three supported by the state, three by the county, and two by private philanthropy. The criminal negro girl, subject to commitment to the Tennessee Vocational School for Girls, may be boarded at state expense in a detention home pend- ing such time as the Vocational School can be enlarged to include a Negro Department. There are twenty-eight private child-caring institutions licensed by the state and nine public child-caring institu- tions established under law not subject to license, includ- ing five state, three county and one city institution. Of the twenty-«ight licensed for child-caring, eleven have child-placing powers granted by the Board of State Chari- ties, which requires a well-defined standard for their work in home-finding. Twenty-two institutions are doing child- placing, including one state and two county ones not sub- ject to license, and nineteen private ones. Of these nine- teen, eleven are licensed and one is granted a special license for each placement, leaving seven operating illegally in re- spect to placing children in family homes. The writer visited all institutions in the state caring for children during the months of May, June, and July, 1920, with the exception of the State Schools for the Blind and the Deaf and Dumb, which were closed for the sum- Institutions 521 mer. Children present at the time of visit and pupils en- rolled in the two State schools on May 1, 1920, numbered 3,810. One thousand six hundred and twenty-one of these were being supported by the state, 343 by the county, 6 by the city, 407 by fraternal organizations, 900 by denomina- tional, and 533 by undenominational groups. Negro chil- dren present numbered 297. During one year, approxi- mately 656 children were placed in family homes, while 1,229 now living outside are still wards of the institutions which are legally and morally responsible for them. With one exception, each institution reports from one to one hun- dred and fifty children sufficiently defective mentally to be fit for care in a state school for feeble-minded. The total of 526 such unfortunates in institutions alone chal- lenges Tennessee for a school adapted to their needs, and yet there is no special state institution to which they can be sent. LIST OF INSTITUTIONS Institution. Population at I. State — Location. Time of Study. State Training and Agricultural School. .Nashville 470 Tennessee Industrial School Nashville 605 Tennessee School for Blind Nashville 215 Tennessee School for Deaf and Dumb Knoxville 248 Tennessee Vocational School for Girls ...TuUahoma 83—1,621 II. County — Hamilton County Industrial School Chattanooga 145 Knox County Industrial School Knoxville 164 Shelby County Industrial School Memphis 34— 343 III. City- Camp Home for Friendless Women Knoxville IV. Private — A. Fraternal: Knights of Pythias Home TuUahoma 48 Masonic Home Nashville 175 Tennessee Odd Fellovirs' Home Clarksv'H- 184— 407 B. DenominationaJ Bethany Training Home (Nazarene) ..Memphis 30 Church Home (Episcopal) Memphis »0 Convent of Good Shepherd (Catholic). .Memphis 57 6— 6 522 Child Welfare in Tennessee Institution. Population at Location. Time of Study. ♦Industrial Home and School (M. E. Church, South) GreenevlUe 75 *Monroo Harding Children's Home (Presbyterian) Nashville 62 *St. John's Orphanage (Episcopal) Knoxville 35 *St. Mary's Orphanage (Catholic) Nashville 96 ■^St. Peter's Orphanage (Catholic) Memphis 265 Tennessee Baptist Orphans' Home Franklin 116 ^Tennessee Orphans' Home (Disciples of Christ) Columbia 65 William H. Dunlap's Orphanage (Asso. Reform Preshyterlan) Brighton 31 — 912 C. Inter- or Undenominational: Blount County Industrial Home Maryville 12 Bristol-Nelson School Murfreesboro 18 Children's Mission Home Knoxville 7 Children's Refuge Chattanooga 26 Blla Oliver Refuge Memphis 7 Florence Crittenden Home Chattanooga 10 Florence Crittenden Home Nashville 28 Home for Friendless Babies Knoxville 24 John Thomas Fresh Air Camp Craggie Hope 107 Knoxville Colored Orphans' Home Knoxville 13 Nashville Private Maternity Home Nashville 3 ■"Porter Home and lieath Orphan Asylum Memphis 83 ■* Protestant Orphanage Nashville 80 Steel Home for Needy Children .... Chattanooga 6 ♦Tennessee Children's Home Society NashviUe 40 *Vine Street Orphanage Chattanooga 55 ■"Washington ^County Child Rescue Association Johnson City 14 — 533 Total 3,822 State Supervision The Board of State Charities, created by the legisla- ture in 1895, is vested with power to inspect and supervise all public and private institutions in the state caring for children. From its inception, the Board has had power to investigate the "whole system of public charities and cor- rectional institutions of the State and to examine into their condition and management." In 1917, state inspection and supervision was extended over all institutions and agen- cies caring for children, all maternity homes as defined by law, all placing of children in family homes, and the state ■"Institutions having placing powers. Institutions 523 was further vested with power to issue license through the Secretary of State to all private institutions and maternity homes only after approval by the Board of State Charities. Failure to comply with the law is punishable by fine. The staff of the Board of State Charities is limited to an executive secretary and office clerk. Their policy is to visit all institutions at least once a year, but in many in- stances they make several visits to one institution during the year as conditions require. The first license is approved by the Board of State Charities only after a thorough and complete investigation either by the Secretary or a mem- ber of the Board. Frequently conditional licenses are is- sued, giving opportunity for the institution to comply with recommendations made by the Board. Licenses are issued for a period of one year from date of issuance and are fre- quently renewed without an immediate visit of inspection. The policy of the Board is to make recommendations to the superintendents in writing, forwarding a copy to the presi- dent of the board of directors, frequently meeting with them, going over personally recommendations and their bearing on standardizing the care of children throughout the state. Dates of the last official visit of the Board to thirty institu- tions, including twenty-eight licensed and two public insti- tutions, number thirteen during the first seven months of 1920, and seventeen during the year of 1919. Quarterly and yearly reports are required of all institutions and are kept on file in the office of the Board of State Charities. Forms are mailed quarterly to each institution and include information about each child regarding admission, re- admission, placement and transfer, and adoption, as well as deaths, total population and number of placeable chil- dren in the institution. Public Acts, 1917, Chap. 120, reads in part: Sec. 3.— "All private agencies, societies, or institutions ... en- gaged in child-caring work, including the taking of chil- dren into guardianship, the placing of children in family homes, the temporary or long-continued institutional care of children, shall obtain annually from. the Board of State Charities a certificate of approval authorizing their work. 524 Child Welfare in Tennessee "Any organization engaging in child-caring work with- out such certificate of approval shall be guilty of a misde- meanor, and punished by a fine of not less than ten ($10.00) dollars nor exceeding one hundred ($100.00) dollars for each child. . . ." Section 4 defines maternity homes : "A lying-in or ma- ternity home shall be held to mean a house or other place maintained and conducted for the care and treatment of women during pregnancy, and subsequent to the birth of children, and usually advertised for such work and the dis- position of un-wanted children. Any place in which such work is done, and in which within six months, two or more women are treated during pregnancy, or after delivery, except women related to the owner or proprietor of such place by blood or marriage, shall be accounted a lying-in home. "The Secretary of State upon the recommendation and certificate of the Board of State Charities shall have power to grant licenses to persons or organizations to maintain lying-in homes or maternity hospitals, provided, such insti- tutions are deemed necessary, the physical and medical facilities offered are adequate, and the personal character of the applicants warrant expectation of creditable and efficient service. . . . "Institutions of this class shall not place out children in private homes for adoption or to be reared as members of families, unless on application to, and examination by the Board of State Charities, any such licensed institution shall be considered capable of doing satisfactory child- placing work, and shall receive a certificate of approval as a child-placing agency. "Any violation of the provisions of this Act, or the establishment of such institution, or the continuance of any persons in such business, • without a license from the Secretary of State, shall be a misdemeanor." Section 7 provides: "Inspection and Supervision: It shall be the duty of the Board of State Charities ... to inspect and supervise all of the child-caring agencies, socie- ,ties, and institutions, public and private, within the State. Institutions 525 The Board is hereby given right of entrance, privilege of inspection, and access to accounts, and records of work, for the purpose of ascertaining the kind and quality of work done, and to obtain a proper basis for its decisions and recommendations. Any violation of the rights given in this paragraph shall be a misdemeanor, punishable ac- cording to law. "Inspection and visitation . . . shall be made at regular intervals, and without previous notice. . . . The Board and its agents shall advise agency and institution officers and workers in regard to approved methods of child care, best types of housing and institutional equip- ment, and adequate records of agency and institutional work. The principal purpose of such visitation shall not be to present official demands for adherence to the provisions of the law, but to offer friendly counsel on child welfare problems and advice concerning progressive methods and the improvement of the service rendered. "If any flagrant abuses . . . are made known . . . the Board shall at once carefully investigate the reports or rumors, and take such action as the matters require . . . and if abuses (in State institutions) are not cor- rected within a reasonable time, the same shall be reported in writing to the next session of the Legislature. If (in private institutions) not corrected in a reasonable time, the Secretary of State shall suspend or revoke the license of such agency or institution upon recomendation of the State Board of Charities." STATE INSTITUTIONS. The government of all state schools is vested in the State Board of Administration which consists of three members: the Governor and State Treasurer by virtue of office serve two years, and a business manager is appointed by the Governor for a period of four years. Created in 1919, this Board has charge of all state institutions, of their accounts and bookkeeping, of purchasing and contracting for supplies. It has authority to make rules- and regula- tions governing the institutions and to enforce them. Ek- 526 Child Welfare in Tennessee ecutive superintendents of the several institutions are ap- pointed by the Governor, each superintendent naming his own staff, and the Board fixing all salaries. Through the business manager, the Board is in continual session, with offices in Nashville. Daily reports are required of all in- stitutions, including number of residents, and amount and cost of food issued for each meal, and financial reports are required monthly. The Board publishes biennial reports; the forthcoming one will cover the period ended July 1, 1920. Fifty cents per day per capita is granted for the maintenance and conduct of each school with the exception of the Schools for the Blind and Deaf and Dumb. 1. State Training and Agricultural School Located seven miles from Nashville, north side of Cum- berland River. W. M. Hard, Superintendent. Established 1907 as Tennessee Reformatory for Boys, for care of youth- ful criminals under 18 convicted of offenses punishable by confinement in the penitentiary. In 1917 Legislature changed name to State Training and Agricultural School and authorized locating negro department on Herbert Do- main, to which this department moved April 28, 1917. *Budget for period December 19, 1916, to June 30, 1918, $206,503.72. Pay roll for April, 1920, $1,950.50. Staff in- cludes superintendent, 20 assistants, and 9 employees in white departments; 8 assistants and 6 employees in negro department. Policy of administration admits boys between 10 and 18 committed by courts throughout the state. Legal cus- tody is always secured, and is vested in Board of Admin- istration by virtue of commitment. Terms of commitment vary from 1 to 20 years, ranging mostly from 2 to 5 years. Majority committed on charge of larceny. Eighty per cent of commitments give charge of larceny, 1.8 per cent attempt to murder, 1 per cent voluntary mur- der, .09 per cent involuntary murder; others give house- breaking and attempt at rape ; one white boy, age 15, com- mitted for 20 years on charge of second degree murder; one, age 17, for 15 years on second degree murder; one negro, age 16, for 15 years on housebreaking and larceny; Institutions 527 three white boys, ages 14, 15, and 18, committed for 10 years for murder, attempt at rape, and assault with intent to ravish. Occupations represented include machinist teamster, farmer, foundry w6rker, laborer, chauffeur' errand Doy, school boy, newsboy, waiter, hotel clerk, cotton mill hand, factory hand, bootblack, clerk, plumber, painter fireman, student, janitor, soda dispenser, stenographer' garage worker, porter, carpenter, herder, cook, salesman] threatrical worker, section hand, tinner and miner. Parole granted on individual merit after one year. Ref- erences are required previous to approving home and plac- ing boy; agreement signed requiring monthly reports for period of three months, quarterly thereafter; reports sel- dom made, supervision not provided; 487 now on parole. Doctor, employed by year, visits institution daily. Hospital well equipped, in charge of registered nurse and practical nurse assistant. State dentist visits bi-weekly; dental equipinent complete. Bath house provides large tank with showers suspended from ceiling, small towels, used but once; individual tooth brushes, used three times daily; in- dividual combs and hairbrushes. Individual clothing pro- vided in Sunday suits. Dormitories in the main building overcrowded, beds too 'close together. Double beds have good springs, mattresses and adequate supply of linen. Ventilation good. Daily menus on file in office of Board of Administration show separate requisitions for food served to boys and that served to officers and teachers. Menus for negro department not accurately kept. One day's menu in July, 1920, shows cost of 19c per capita per day for -food furnished boys and 26c cost per capita for food furnished officers and teachers. A day's nienu in May, 1920, shows cost of 25c per capita for food furnished boys and 22c. for food furnished officers and teachers. Menus for boys served : breakfast — ^bacon, grits, sweet milk, lightbread; dinner — ^black-eyed peas, snap beans, bacon butts, buttermilk, combread; supper — apple butter, lightbread, butter, syrup, sweet milk and buttermilk. * Biennial Report Tennessee Board of Cpntrol, 1917-18. 528 Child Welfare in Tennessee. Menus served officers and teachers: breakfast — ^bacon, bis- cuit, butter, coffee, sweet milk; dinner — snap beans, black- eyed peas, tomatoes, green peas, meat, buttermilk ; supper — spaghetti with tomatoes, salmon, coffee and bread. Recreation is featured. Wednesday and Saturday half- holidays given to baseball, football and other sports. Com- petitive games played with outside groups. Play pavilion and limited amount of apparatus provided. Library used daily during evening hours, boys have access to books and magazines during day as program permits. School room used for general assembly and motion picture shows. Sun- day school and preaching weekly include Protestant and Catholic services. Boys assist with work of institution under careful supervision. Work assigned each boy after individual study. Steam laundry under direction of com- petent laundryman in operation daily, with assistance of seven boys. Factory employs approximately 103 boys daily in two shifts ; output averages 65 to 90 dresses daily ; boys paid one-fourth of the earnings ; each nets between $5 and $6 monthly. Boys detailed for work in kitchen, dormitories, halls, school room and dining room and given instruction in gardening and farming. Half-time school conducted nine months each year. State texts anfl course of study used. Six teachers, four certified, employed by school. White department located on 365-acre farm, 300 acres under cultivation. Buildings include original farm house, at present used for kitchen; main building is three-story brick containing administrative offices, living quarters, assembly hall, dormitory and dining room; one two-story brick cottage, some distance removed,' cares for 70 boys under 14; one two-story brick hospital, a bath house, laun- dry, factory, shops, general utility buildings, besides farm and dairy barns. Negro department located on 11,000 acres known as Herbert Domain, on Cumberland Plateau in Bled- soe, Cumberland and Van Buren counties. Property pur- chased by state in 1906, remained undeveloped until oper- ations began in 1917 looking toward locating branch of Boys' School. Land cleared and cultivated; buildings con- structed mostly of logs, by boys under careful instruction Institutions 529 and supervision, include five cottages for boys, one school one dinmg room, one mill, three cottages for employees a barn, dairy and silo. State Board of Administration niw workmg on question of transportation pending further de- velopment and probable transfer of State Training and Agricultural School. 2. Tennessee Industrial School Located three miles east of Nashville on Murfreesboro Pike. Rev. Hardy Copeland, Superintendent. Founded 1886, for dependent, neglected and wayward children, when "it shall appear to the satisfaction of the Court that it would be manifestly for the interest of the child." *Budget for period December 20, 1916, to June 30, 1918, $210,029.11. Staff includes executive superintendent with average of 57 helpers: 1 assistant superintendent, 1 matron with 9 as- sistants, 9 school teachers, 10 division officers, 10 departs ment heads, 1 cook, 1 storekeeper, 2 watchmen, 2 nurses, 1 stenographer and 10 employees. Besides teachers and a few department heads, no employees have special training; several with school many years are deeply devoted to their tasks. Several division officers were formerly inmates them- selves, are directly responsible for the children, and are not qualified for work with children. One officer committed by court as delinquent, remained five years, out short time, returned as pupil and reached fifth grade. Another, com- mitted at 13, remained nine years, with practically no life outside. Another committed at 16 remained five- years, reached third grade. Boys admitted between 8 and 18; girls between 8 and 16. For past two years have been received only through court commitment; few remain who were placed in the in- stitution by one or both parents or by legal guardian. Com- mitted to care and custody of the Tennessee Industrial School, children become wards of State Board of Adminis- tration until they reach "age of 21 years or until discharged by the Board or otherwise disposed of by a court of compe- * Biennial Report Tennessee Board of Control, 1917-18. 530 Child Welfare in Tennessee tent jurisdiction." Meanwhile, the Board is empowered to find homes for abandoned or neglected children whose com- mitment as such gives authority to place them in suitable family homes under supervision during minority. Unfor- tunately, delinquents are being committed along with home- less and neglected children. Commitment papers for 112 children, including 90 boys and 22 girls, state as cause for commitment "delinquency" as defined by statute; 62 are now between ages of 14 and 19, and 64 have been committed since May 18, 1918. Without doubt delinquents are committed whose official papers do not contain information as to nature of offense. One v/hose commitment names "dependenc:^," is known to have been guilty of burglary and housebreaking, has been in school three years, is now 17 and in third grade. An- other whose commitment names "dependency," is known to be a sex oflFer^der, in school two years, is 16 and in third grade. Admission is based on scholastic population of state and not restricted to maximum capacity. Each county is grant- ed quota of state pupils totaling 704 (1919). When quota is reached, the county may continue to commit by paying from county funds and still others may be committed as private pay pupils. County and private pay pupils pay at rate of $175 a year. Children remain in the School as long as 10 years. The prime purpose is defeated by not providing machinery for removing them as rapidly as consistent with their good. Of 616 commitments studied, 20 per cent entered prior to Jan. 1, 1917. Forty-two older children now ranging be- tween 14 and 21 have been in the School from 4 to 10 years. Dependent or neglected children of these ages should not be confined in an institution. If they are delinquent, crim- inal or feeble-minded, they do not belong in the Industrial School. Previous to April, 1920, when the Board of Admin- istration established a child-placing department, the School discharged children at age limit — 21 — or after 30 days' probation in family homes. Applications for children are now received by School, Board of Administration, or child- Institutions 531 placing agent. References required, inquiry made, but no supervision after placement. Medical examination is not given before or at time of admittance. Physician employed by School visits daily. Dentist employed by state visits weekly. No consulting staff of specialists is utilized. No statement regarding health accompanies child at time of commitment. At no time are tests made of vision, hearing, heart, lungs, blood, skin, or mental development. Hospital facilities are lim- ited. State Department of Health has on record reports scourges of typhoid and smallpox spread by children work- ing in kitchens and dining room. This preceded present administration but nothing in present program prevents similar epidemics. Several children at time of visit gave evidence of skin infection and inherited venereal disease, yet no blood or microscopic tests determine whether they need treatment or whether disease exists in stage of infection. Two chil- dren whose faces and hands were covered with deep sores were being treated and their hands dressed by pupil as- sistants. Boys in main department bathe twicfe a week during hot weather. A division numbering from 35 to 45 is de- tailed to bathe at one time. Bath house located at rear of enclosed yard, equipped with two tanks and overhead show- ers; two common dressing rooms adjoining, equipped with lojpg wooden benches and mirrors. Small cakes of soap and common towels used. No tooth brushes or individual combs. Clothing changed weekly. Bathing facilities in girls' department and in boys' and girls' cottages are better, though not adequate to prevent spread of disease or to as- sure any degree of privacy. Tooth brushes and small com- mon towels used ; clothing changed twice weekly. All dor- mitories overcrowded; use double bed without springs, lumpy mattresses and inadequate supply of linen. Chil- dren sleep between blankets washed only at end of season. Boys' main dormitory, with two wings, used for 272, located on third iloor. Girls' main dormitory, with two an- nexes, used for 116 girls, third floor. Official report one 532 Child Welfare in Tennessee day enrolled 404 boys, 15 absent, 389 present. Same day sleeping accommodations provided for 396 boys. Official report enrolled 201 girls with 15 absent and 186 present. Same day sleeping accommodations provided for 174 girls, sleeping two in a bed. Daily reports of food requisitions and observation of food [-erved show unbalanced diet, excessive in starch, and leave question as to adequate amount in case child does not or cannot eat food set before him. Requisitions on file with Board of Administration show only amount used for entire school, do not indicate kind and amount served children and that served officers and teachers. Daily cost of food for entire school hovers around 21c per capita. During March, 1920, daily cost ranged from 18c to 24c per capita, with an average of 21c. Plan of serving food at tables leaves responsibility with children — bread and such articles as onions and radishes, are placed at each child's plate, soup and beef put on table in large basins, children either help themselves or are helped by others at same table; re- sult is general scramble, breaking down all possibility for" proper serving and eating. With no drinking fountains, children depend for water between meals on hose in yard. One noon-day meal for children consisted of square of cornbread, green onions, vegetable soup, boiled beef and water. Another: cornbread, macaroni, cheese and water. Another: cornbread, meat, vegetable soup, onions and water. One meal for teachers and officers included: cab.- bage, green peas with potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn- bread and onions. Milk is furnished only for the sick and for general cooking. Silence is imposed during meals. Daily program leaves considerable free time valuable for play and work. Football and baseball offer diversions inside the yard. Portion of campus used for baseball during summer, competitive games played Saturday afternoons among boys themselves. No director, no apparatus; large washers as substitutes for horseshoes, heads and tails of pennies as substitutes for checkers, are used to while away intervals between tasks. School band of fifty pieces offers diversion for boys. Music lessons provided for limited Institutions 533 number. Children assist with work of institution under supervision. All food cooked in two kitchens, one in boys' main build- ing, other in girls' main building. Each department has one large dining room. Cook in boys' department and matron in girls' department assisted by children in wash- ing, peeling and preparation of vegetables, in cooking, care of kitchen, washing dishes and emptying garbage. Chil- dren serve all food, take care of dining room, sweep after each meal and wipe up floor. Steam laundry in charge of experienced laundryman, operates daily with 18 boys as- sisting, in two shifts. Rough dry for girls' departments re- turned to their building where ironing is done with flat- irons and stove heat. Boys' rough dry ironed by boys at laundry with electric irons. Work in dormitories includes making beds, changing linen, sweeping, mopping floor, stairs and care of toilets. All garments needing mending sorted and sent to separate rooms for boys' and girls' de- partments. Children detailed for mending and sewing, averaging 28 daily, in two shifts. Children assist in care of sick as conditions require. All shoes cobbled under direc- tion of shoemaker, using 12 boys daily, in two shifts. Car- penter in charge of repairs uses 6 boys daily. Barbering, gardening, blacksmithing, farming and general care of stock all done by pupil assistants. Half-time nine-months' school conducted in institution. Nine teachers, five certified; salaries paid from regular budget. Neither teachers nor school associated with or supervised by state or county boards of education. At time of visit 485 children were enrolled in classes. Attendance irregular, as indicated by enrollment and children actually present in school rooms. Class room periods include study and recitation. No library or study hour provided. No record of school grade accompanies child at time of commit- ment; no central record of his progress kept at school. Study of grade and age show 93 per cent retarded three years or more. 534 Child Welfare in Tennessee One second grade class contained 46 pupils with ages as follows : Two were 17, 4 were 16, 4 were 15, 9 were 14, 12 were 13, 9 were 12, 3 were 11, 2 were 10 and 1 was 9. Only department offering real vocational work is print- ing shop, where full equipment is provided for job work with linotype recently installed. Printer in charge esti- mates two years' consecutive work needed to turn out print- er. Limited number of boys can hope to complete course. State Factory Inspector has encountered children illegally employed in outside printing establishments using danger- ous machinery, who received training in the Industrial School while under age. An apron factory operated by an outside corporation occupies three-fourths of a large frame building. Contract between Board of Administration and corporation requires corporation to furnish material and supervise work. School furnishes children to operate machines and supervise them. Purpose is to furnish training for children; incidentally any proceeds accruing to be deposited to credit of school. Factory gives experience in handling simple machines, but does not offer opportunity for learning a trade. Opposing purposes raise serious question of permanent value as an education factor; corporation's first interest is output, School's first interest is training children. School makes an effort to safeguard the children. Boys and girls, as- signed in half-day shifts, four hours each, but are selected without careful physical examination and without regard to age or personal fitness. Effect questionable, little more than a form of child labor. School owns 99 acres of land, about 70 under cultiva- tion ; rents 65 acres, under cultivation. There are 18 build- ings arranged in two groups with department for boys en- tirely separate from department for girls. Main building containing administrative offices and officers' living quar- ters, forms entrance to quadrangle, around which is grouped boys' department. Auditorium and girls' hospital occupy grounds separating girls' main building, cottage and laun^ dry from boys' department. With exception of tjoys' cot- tage, and one vacant cottage, all buildings are old, much in Institutions 535 need of renovation and repair. No building is fireproof, none are adequately equipped with fire escapes. Fire drills not conducted, escape could easily be cut off under present conditions. Water supply from Nashville not piped into all buildings using water. According to last inspection by State Department of Fire Prevention, August, 1919, supply not sufficient for general use nor protection against fire. Electric lights from Nashville power used in all build- ings and a private sewerage system with underground pipes drains into river nearby. Steam installed in boys' depart- ment, stoves in girls' department. City water in boys' de- partment, not piped in girls' department except in bath and washrooms in basement of main building and cottage. Girls' main building supplied from one tap located several yards from basement door. All water used in kitchen, dining room, officers' and teachers' quarters, school rooms and dor- mitories must be carried in from "pump house" and carried out again. Inside toilets numbering 12 installed in boys' dormitories. No inside toilets provided for girls and only one in girls' cottage. Two outside toilets connected with sewer, flushed twice daily, while granite cans with covers are used in connection with girls' main dormitory. Girls' dining room, located in basement of their main building, seats about 208. White table cloths and white dishes in fair condition. Room not cheerful nor well light- ed, ventilation requires windows remain open full length. Boys' dining room dismal, with floor space approximat- ing 66 by 60 feet, and 15 large windows, seats about 380. Long wooden tables, ragged table cloths, once white, granite dishes, badly cracked and broken, are used. A soup plate, a cup, a spoon, varying in size, provided each child. One pitcher, one basin for meat, another basin for soup, placed on each table. Benches and chairs from which backs have been broken, are used for seating children. At time of visit nine children stood. One was a low-grade, feeble-minded child, who scarcely knew enough to eat food placed before him. General atmosphere of School prison-like repression, ex- cept in boys' and girls' cottages. Children generally treated 536 Child Welfare in Tennessee as delinquents. Like little prisoners, boys, clad in common garb, march into the dining room in single file, sit on benches without backs, in silence eat out of dilapidated dishes, and march out again as silently as they came. Yet these children are not criminals and should not be treated as prisoners. The only crime of most of them is having been neglected or abused by someone responsible for them, 3. Tennessee School for Blind Located in Nashville. L S. Wampler, Superintendent. A school for "totally blind children of sound mind and body, for those partially-sighted children w^hose vision is insuffi- cient for them to attend seeing schools." *Budget for period December 19, 1916, to June 30, 1918, $83,618.33. Pupils admitted during last biennium (1917-18) represented 62 counties; 85 per cent totally blind, 65 per cent partially blind. Tuition, board, laundry and use of books furnished. Medical care and treatment given by the best specialists available. Courses, up to tvsrelfth grade, given by compe- tent staff. In addition, instruction is given in music, indus- trial arts, physical education and typewriting. All pupils required to learn point system. Library includes over 6,000 volumes of standard authors in both Braille and New York point and in addition about 1,000 books of line type or raised point. Pupils return to their homes during summer vaca- tions. 4. Tennessee School for Deaf and Dumb . Located .in Knoxville. H. E. Walker, Superintendent. Founded 1845 for the education of deaf children unable to attend public school. *Budget December, 1916, to June 30, 1918, $87,871.42. Literary and industrial courses provided during school year. Policy of school is individual study of child, adapting instruction to his need. Department for white children located on 8 1-2 acres of ground, center of Knoxville. Buildings consist of main building, one cottage, one hospital, one printing shop, gymnasium and superin- " Biennial Report Tennessee Board of Control, 1917-18, P. 272. Institutions 537 tendent's residence. Negro department located on 27 acres in suburbs of Knoxville, old family residence utilized as main building. Same course of instruction provided in both de- partments. Children return to homes during summer va- cation. 5. Tennessee Vocational School for Girl s 1-ocated two miles east of Tullahoma. Mrs. Ward su- perintendent. Established by Legislature, 1915, opened 1918. The original act of 1915 made all classes of delinquent girls, including negroes, eligible for commitment. In order to limit number committed to capacity. Legislature in 1919 restricted commitment to criminal group guilty of felony. At same time provision wa& made for boarding girls de- clared merely delinquent in detention homes at state ex- pense until such time as additional cottages could be pro- vided and capacity increased. There is quite general feel- ing that the amendment of 1919 should be rescinded and the original law again made effective. Acts 1915, Chapter 24, "Any girl under 18 years of age who has violated any municipal ordinance or committed any offense against the laws of this State not punishable by death or imprisonment for life, or who habitually associates with vicious or immoral persons or who is incorrigible to such an extent that she cannot be controlled by her parent or guardian," may be committed to Tennessee Vocational School for Girls, "there to be held Until she reaches the age of 21," unless released as provided by law. Legislature in 1919 amended law to provide, "That procedure for trial and commitment of girls shall be the same as that for he commit- ment or sentence of boys to he State Training and Agricul- tural School ; that all girls under 18 who have been convicted of an offense punishable by confinement in the penitentiary shall be sentenced to confinement in said Tennessee Voca- tional School for Girls." The same Legislature provided for care of delinquent girls under a miscellaneous appropriation bill as follows: "To all institutions receiving delinquent girls when sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction and one approved by the State Board of Administration, for each girl per day 50 cents." 538 Child Welfare in Tennessee Previous to 1919, administrative povper was vested in board of five trustees appointed by Governor. Legislature in 1919 put School under State Board of Administration. Staff includes superintendent, a general supervisor of farm and school, three teachers, one registered nurse. Since 1919, girls guilty of felony are committed through courts, usually for definite term of years. Admission restricted to capacity through friendly co-operation of courts. Legal custody vested in State Board of Administration. Forty- three have been paroled after careful inquiry by Superin- tendent and recommendation of court making commitment. Follow-up supervision limited to personal observations of superintendent and court. No negro department has been established; negro girls eligible for commitment may be boarded in detention homes at state expense pending such time as a department can be provided at the School; 18 negro girls received such care during the past year in fpur counties: Davidson 14, Dyer 1, Montgomery 2, Robertson 1 ; ages range from 9 to 15, and with exception of one charged with criminal associates, all charged with larceny. In 95 commitments, ages range from 9 to 18; 23 per cent are under 14, 77 per cent between 14 and 18. The largest number are 14 to 16. Thirty per cent name delin- quency as charge, 25 per cent name incorrigibility, and 7 per cent name larceny, immoral associates and dependency; 24 per cent include forgery, housebreaking, fraudulent checks, lewdness, obtaining goods under false pretenses, dependent and delinquent, without home protection, stroll- ing, running away from home, arson and larceny. Twenty- two counties are represented, 24 per cent from Davidson and 15 per cent from Knox. Thorough medical examination given at time of adnnit- ance. Volunteer physicians serve on call. State dentist visits monthly. Registered nurse, in charge of hospital, gives daily supervision. Adequate bathing facilities pro- vided. Individual clothing, individual toilet articles, private rooms, equipped with single iron beds, good mattresses, springs and adequate supply of linen. Diet balanced. School provides no library except a small collection of refer- Institutions 539 ence books. Recreation, including games and hikes, fea- tured. Unwritten law governing personal conduct of girls resembles self-government without undue freedom. Merits granted in special privileges, as attendance at picture shows, picnics and errands to town. Work of institution done by girls under careful direction and supervision. Full-time school to ninth grade conducted 9 months, state course of study and texts used. Three teachers em- ployed, 2 academic, 1 business, paid by special state appro- priation. Age and grade study shows 90 per cent retarded three years or more. Fully 25 per cent are mentally defi- cient. Vocational training limited to probationary course in nursing conducted by three physicians, to typewriting and shorthand. Girls frequently given special training in nursing and normal courses. School located on 210 acres heavily wooded land, six acres under cultivation. Four fireproof buildings construct- ed of stone include two cottages, each housing 40 girls, pro- viding dining room, kitchen, stationary tubs, family living room and sleeping rooms ; a chapel and power house. Spirit of freedom, natural, home-like relationships, no bars, no locked doors, no night watchman. School needs at least two additional cottages, a laundry, furnishings for living rooms, a library; and instructors in home economics. With addi- tional cottages, original statute should be restored provid- ing for care of delinquent girls. 6. Tennessee Home and Training School for Feeble-Minded Persons Not established. Provided for by 1919 Legislative Acts, Chapter 150, "An Act to provide for the protection, care, control, oversight, custody, maintenance and training of feeble-minded persons, to define who are feeble-minded within the meaning of this Act and for establishment, con- struction and maintenance of the Tennessee Home and Training School for feeble-minded persons." Appropria- tion, $10,000. 540 Child Welfare in Tennessee county industrial schools County industrial schools established by law (Code No. 4356) for "The reformation, correction, employment, instruction, and education of neglected, evil disposed, vicious, or incorrigible youths of both sexes." Dependents may be committed (Code No. 4370) "when without suitable home and adequate means of obtaining an honest living, in danger of being brought up to lead an idle and immoral life, or by the mother when father is dead or has abandoned his family or does not provide for their support." Age limit is 16. Admission restricted to children over six as policy of administration. Commitment through court for period of minority, or until released by Board of Trustees. Legal custody secured. Only children from county received. Literary and vocational schools not affiliated with or super- vised by state or local boards of education. Governed by boards, each of five trustees, serving period of three years, four appointed by the judges of law and chancery courts of the county, with fifth member the judge or chairman of county court. Trustees meet monthly, authorize expendi- tures, audit accounts, responsible for details of policy and management. 1. Hamilton County Industrial School Located seven miles from Chattanooga on Cleveland Pike. Founded 1897. Conducts three departments, one each for white boys, white girls and negro boys. Women's Advisory Committee appointed by local judges meets monthly, supervises girls' department, provides special pri- vate funds. Administers small endowment for girls' de- partment. Annual budget (May 1, 1920), $25,169.18. Staff and employees numbering 12, including superintendent, em- ployed by Board of Trustees, an assistant, in charge of boys ; a matron and assistant in charge of girls ; a farm man, em- ployed by board of trustees and responsible for them; a dairyman ; a man and wife (negro) in charge of negro de- partment. Orders of commitment of 59 white boys, 41 white girls and 33 negro boys, show ages at time of commitment vary Institutions 541 from 5 to 17 years. Causes include "dependent," "for care" and "incorrigible"; and length of time spent in School ranges from 1 to 8 years. White boys show 22 per cent committed at age 8, 15 per cent each at age 9, 10 and 11 ; 10 per cent at 6; others range from 3 per cent at 7 and 15 to 6 per cent at 12. White girls show 14 per cent each committed at 9, 10, 11 and 13 ; 12 per cent at 12 ; 10 per cent at 8 ; others range from 2 per cent each at 7, 15 and 16 to 7 per cent at 14. Negro boys ^ow 27 per cent committed at 13; 21 per cent at 11 ; 12 per cent at 15 ; 9 per cent at 9 ; others range from 3 per cent each at 7, 12, 16 and 17 to 6 per cent each at 8, 10 and 14. Orders show all girls and 70 per cent of white boys com- mitted as "dependents" and "for care," 13 per cent white boys as incorrigible, 1 per cent each for disorderly conduct and vagrancy, 8 3-10 per cent bad environment, while 6.3 per cent either give no cause or order of commitment is lack- ing. Of negro boys, 48 per cent committed as "incorrigi- ble," 43 per cent for "larceny" and 9 per cent as "depen- dent." Power of parole vested in Board of Trustees ; not satis- factory to Board under present plan, with no preliminary investigation and no follow-up supervision. White boys, longest term in School 6 years. Records show 36 per cent in School 6 months or less, 20.6 per cent one year, 15.4 per cent two years, 11 per cent 4 years, 7 per> cent 3 years and 5 per cent each 5 and 6 years. White girls, longest term 8 years ; 30 per cent 2 years, 21 per cent 3 years, 20 per cent 1 year, 18 per cent 6 months or less, 7 per cent 4 years, 2 per cent each 5 and 8 years. Negro boys, longest term 2 years ; 61 per cent 6 months or less, 36 per cent 1 year, 3 per cent 2 years. Explanation given for shorter term that boys ran away when cottage burned. Children not receiving satisfactory care at time of visit, due largely to discord in School. Bathing facilities totally inadequate in girl's cottage and no provision for privacy in dressing or bathing. County physician available on call 542 Child Welfare in Tennessee from Chattanooga. No facilities for isolation. No hospital. Dormitories well lighted and ventilated ; much overcrowded in girls' department. Single beds equipped with mattresses and springs. Insufficient amount of bed linen. Diet bal- anced. No play equipment except as improvised by chil- dren. Children assist with work of institution. Half-time school to eighth grade conducted in chapel building, 9 months term. State course of study and texts used. Three certified teachers employed by School. Five girls attended county high school last ^ear. Vocational training not standardized. Sunday school and preaching service conducted weekly in chapel. School occupies 390-acre farm, heavily wooded. Build- ings, well located, include two-story brick cottage white boys' department, two-story brick cottage girls' department removed some distance, and two-story frame farm house used temporarily for negro boys' department since burning of negro cottage last winter. New building for negro de- partment located across road from white department, ready for use in fall, 1920. Large dairy bams, silo and farm buildings grouped near boys' department. Farm equipped with tractors and modern machinery. Weak point in or- ganization makes farm manager responsible to Board of Trustees. Superintendent should be given full authority over all employes, to hire and dismiss, otherwise confusion of jurisdiction causes discord. Additional equipment need- ed includes hospital quarters, directed and supervised in- struction for girls in sewing and making own clothing — kind of clothing suitable according to work and season, adequate facilities for bathing in girls' cottage and super- vision of recreation, vocational training in new negro de- partment, and at the earliest opportunity addition of cot- tage for negro girls, isolated but under same management. 2. Knox County Industrial School Located three miles from Knoxville on Middlebrook Pike. Miss Leah Fletcher, Superintendent. Founded 1897. Con- ducts four departments, one each for white boys, white girls, negro boys and negro girls. Annual budget (June 30, 1920) $38,428.75. Superintendent competent executive, former Institutions 543 teacher and educator, understands child life. Staff of 18 assistants, with few exceptions well qualified, trained and experienced. White boys assigned to main building in charge of matron. White girls assigned to three cottages, each in charge of housemother. Negro boys assigned to one cottage with man and wife in charge of negro department. Negro girls assigned to one cottage with housemother. Each cottage has living room, dining room, kitchen, dormitories, bath room and laundry. All work conducted under direc- tion of housemother. Study of 182 commitments, 149 whits and 33 negro, shows ages (at time of visit) vary in white department from 6 to 21 years, and in negro department from 8 to 18 years. Charges and causes of commitment include, "de- pendent," "incorrigible," "homeless" and "from unfit home." Length of time in the School varies from 6 months to 11 years. In white department the youngest is 6, oldest 21 ; 14 per cent are 11, 12 per cent are 12,11 per cent are 13, 10.3 each per cent are 14 and 15. Others range from 2 per cent age 18 years to 7 per cent each 19 and 21. In negro department the youngest is 8, oldest 18 ; 22 per cent each are 12 and 14, 17 per cent are 13, 12 per cent are 10. Others include 3 per cent each age 8, 16, 17 and 18, 6 per cent age 9 and 9 per cent age 11. All negro girls are committed as dependents, all negro boys as incorrigibles, while 70 per cent of white children are committed as "dependent," 22 per cent as "incorrigible." 5 per cent as "homeless," 3 per cent "from unfit home." In white department, the longest term in the School is 12 years. In negro department longest term is 8 years. Of the white boys, 27 per cent have been in the School 3 years, 22 per cent one year, 20 per cent 6 months or less. Others range from 1.1 per cent for 9 years to 9 per cent for 2 years. Records of white girls show 25 per cent in School 3 years ; 15 per cent each for 1 to 4 years, 10 per cent each for 2 and 5 years. Others range from 1.6 per cent each for 8, 9 and 10 years to 8 per cent for 6 months. 544 Child Welfare in Tennessee Of negro boys 25 per cent have been in the School for 2 years, 17 per cent for 6 months or less, 12 per cent for 4 years and 7 per cent each 5, 7 and 8 years. Of negro girls 5 per cent have been in School 6 months or less, 29 per cent for 1 year and 14 per cent for 4 years. Children are paroled by Board of Trustees on recom- mendation of superintendent and judge. Wages are re- quired when children are 14 or over. Present program in- cludes personal visit to family home before placement, and personal supervision after placement. Jobs secured include a variety of business positions, teaching, clerking, for girls; dairying, farm work and business for boys. Children receive good care. Diet balanced. Bathing and change of clothing limited in white boys' department. Medical staff, including specialists, volunteer on call, two serve for period of two months. Medical records kept in office. No hosiptal, no facilities for isolation except one- room cottage erected for tuberculous children. Recreation featured, in charge of supervisor, ample outdoor equipment being installed in white boys' department. Boy scouts ac- tive, competitive games played with outside groups include volley ball, baseball and basketball. Entire school in three groups spends two weeks camping in mountains during summer. Small library with magazines in constant use. Half-time school conducted to eighth grade 8 1-2 months. Twelve pupils attend city high school Fall 1920. Kinder- garten teacher conducts work for mental defectives. Chil- dren attend church and Sunday school outside. Vocational training confined to well regulated selection of tasks per- formed under personal supervision. Instruction given girls in sewing, mending, quilting and household arts; boys in poultry raising, care of stock, dairying, gardening and farm- ing. School occupies 99 3-4 acres. Six two-story brick build- ings located on elevation overlooking city, mountains and valleys, include administration building with boys' dormi- tory, three cottages for girls, two cottages for negroes, dairy barn, laundry, milk-house, and farm buildings in rear of administration building. Several buildings need redeco- Institutions 545 rating and cleaning. Equipment includes single beds throughout. Boys' dormitory over-crowded in number of beds. Well lighted and ventilated. Children lead free, wholesome, homelike life. Many consider Industrial School their only home, visit frequently after leaving. With present high standards, negro department should be used to fullest capacity by courts and social workers in Knox County. 3. Shelby County Industrial School Located twelve miles northeast of Memphis, near Bart- let. H. W. Charles, Superintendent. Founded 1904. Con- ducts a department each for white and negro boys. Annual budget (Feb. 29, 1920) $28,075.18. Staff and employees numbering 12, include superintendent, matron, family man- ager, household manager, farmer, gardener, assistant gar- dener, man and wife (negro) in charge of negro depart- ment, mechanic, cook and night watchman. Superintendent for 18 years in charge of Kansas Industrial School for Boys, good executive, with wife, matron, understand child life and institutional management. Two assistants formerly associates in Kansas School. Maximum capacity of school — White department 40, negro department 40. Total number admitted since open- ing, 869 — white 594, negro 275. Study of commitments for 22 white and 12 negro boys shows ages at time of commit- ment vary from 5 to 15 years. Charges and causes of com- mitment include dependency, incorrigibility, larceny, run- ning away, gambling and delinquency. Longest term in the School, 6 years. All negro boys committed by court for period of minority ; 87 per cent of the white boys committed by court and 13 per cent on application of parent. Records show 27 per cent of white boys 11 years at time of commitment ; 14 per cent each 8, 12 and 13 ; 9 per cent each 9 and 15 ; 4.3 per cent each 5, 7 and 14. Of negro boys, 25 per cent show age of 15, 17 per cent each 9, 10 and 14; 8 per cent each 11, 12 and 16 . For white boys, records show charge and cause of com- mitment: "Incorrigible" 45 per cent; "dependency" and 546 Child Welfare in Tennessee "larceny" each 18 per cent; "runaway" 14 per cent, and "gambling" 5 per cent. For negro boys, charge and cause of commitment show "larceny" 41.7 per cent, "runaway" 25 per cent, "depen- dency" 17.3 per cent, and "incorrigible" 8.3 per cent. Longest term in School for white boys is 6 years; 27.3 per cent each show 6 months and 1 year; 18 per cent 3, 14 per cent 2, 9 per cent 4, 4.3 per cent 6 years. For negro boys : 50 per cent 6 months or less, 33.3 per cent 1 year, 8.3 per cent each 2 and 4 years. Parole power with trustees not utilized this year. Re- lease or parole may be secured in the course of ona year on good behavior. Merit system makes possible 30 merits each month, with additional credits totaling 500 a minimum to secure parole or release. White boys receive excellent care. In negro department, sanitary conditions have been bad. Water and plumbing was connected on day of visit. School physician living at Bartlet, visits on call. Examines all children periodically. Psychopathic examinations con- ducted during year by superintendent, shows 36 per cent normal, 36 per cent retarded and 28 per cent feeble-minded. Dormitories in both departments well lighted and ventilated, provided with single beds, good springs, mattresses and adequate supply of linen. Diet balanced. Similar food fur- nished both departments. Large grounds, used for play. No apparatus, no supervision. No library. Limited num- ber of magazines. Children assist with the work of the in- stitution and farm. Half-time conducted. Two certified county teachers paid by the School ; use state course of study and texts. Plans for vocational training are in the making. One brick building erected for industrial training not in use. School occupies 390-acre farm. Buildings located in beautifully wooded grounds, include a three-story brick cot- tage for administrative offices and white department, a four- room bungalow for superintendent's family, a two-story frame cottage for negro department, two-story brick indus- trial building, dairy barns and garage, located near white department. Farm equipped with modern farm machinery. The School should be used to limit of capacity with voca- Institutions 547 tional training, sanitary conditions, and as rapidly as pos- sible, additional cottages for girls, both white and negro. CITY INSTITUTION 1. Camp Home for Friendless Women Located at 702 N. Jackson Avenue, Knoxville. Mrs. Wells, nurse in charge. Founded 1914! Property gift of Major Camp to City of Knoxville, for shelter and care of friendless Avomen. Board of five directors appointed by Mayor are working out policies of administration. Sup- ported by city. Children admitted with mothers. Others admitted temporarily as accommodation to juvenile court and social workers, using place as detention home. Legal custody never secured, no child-placing. Children present receiving good care, properly isolated from adults. There is need in the community for woman's protective work. Florence Crittenden Home group not active, leaves Camp Home only shelter for maternity cases. Program, to be most effective, should definitely classify groups, pro- viding isolation for each to include the group of women needing maternity care only, the group needing temporary shelter, and the group of children needing temporary shel^ ter. Home located in a resident-business section, occupies several lots, with a two-story brick house, comfortably fur- nished, offers opportunity for separate departments. PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS FRATERNAL 1. Knights of Pythias Home Located at Ovoca, four miles north of Tullahoma. Mr. Stratton, Superintendent. Established about 12 years, for care of widows and orphans of Knights of Pythias in Ten- nessee. Administrative power vested in board of control, eight members appointed by Grand Lodge, meet quarterly at Home. Annual budget (1919) $12,838.76, raised by sub- Fcription, membership assessments by Grand Lodge, and revenue from lease of property. Staff of four includes su- perintendent, his wife, two assistants — man and wife. Five widows resident in Home are given employment. Orphans 548 Child Welfare in Tennessee are admitted 2 years of age and over. Children with moth- ers are admitted without age limit. Legal custody is not required. Orphans remain in Home until capable of self- support, then secure positions in business, nursing or teach- ing, under supervision of local lodge. Mothers with chil- dren remain in Home until circumstances warrant leaving. Children are cared for in groups in small cottages and all v.ork for the group is done in the cottage. Widows with cliildren are assigned to cottages, each having charge of children in addition to her own. A cottage is limited to eight children and a widow housemother. A group of chil- dren live in the superintendent's home in charge of wife as matron. Full-time school is conducted in co-operation with county board of education. One certified teacher, paid by county for 6 months, by Knights of Pythias for 2 months, holds an 8 months' school, open to all children in the neigh- borhood. The Home is beautifully located on 210 acres with build- ings clustering about Lake Kalantha. Plant of 21 buildings valued at $50,000, includes private residence of superinten- dent, five winter cottages for widows, eight summer cot- tages, summer dining room. Friendship Hall, and other buildings utilized during the Summer only. Beautiful lake, springs and waterfalls, give ample opportunity for swim- ming, bathing and outdoor sports. Water sports featured L.nder careful instruction and supervision. The program at present is complicated and unsatisfactory in point of best interests of the children. During the summer, the grounds are used for various church conferences and camping par- ties. Older children are employed and all mingle with sum- mer guests. Widows acting as housemothers are not chosen because of special fitness to care for children other than their own but rather because of circumstances. Rest interests of the children can be secured only by separating the children's department from that of the widows with children and separating them all from summer camping groups; employing housemothers chosen because of qualifications and fitness for work with dependent chil- dren. Institutions 549 2. Masonic Home Located five miles from Nashville on Lebanon Pike. W. 0. Cramer, Superintendent. Founded 1886, as "An in- stitution for support of indigent widows and the mainte- nance of orphan children of deceased Masons" in Tennes- see. Administrative power vested in board of control, nine members, appointed annually by Grand Lodge, meet month- ly. Financed through membership assessments of Masonic Lodges. Staff of eight consists of superintendent, his viafe as matron, man and wife in charge of boys, man and wife in charge of old men's cottage, two assistant matrons, and in addiiion two employees. Home conducts three departments: One for care of widows and orphans, one for aged men, one for aged women, Children without mothers admitted between ages of 3 and 17. Children with mothers admitted without age limit. Legal custody not required. Children remain in Home until able to be self-supporting, are then carefully placed in busi- ness positions under supervision of local lodges. Each widow with children is assigned to a private dormitory.. Children without mothers are assigned to boys' and girls' dormitories under care of matrons ; aged men are provided a building by themselves, and aged women a cottage by themselves. Recreation is featured, playground apparatus l.rovided, outdoor games organized, including competitive games with outside groups. Summer vacations are planned for large number of children, including mothers. County school to eighth grade is conducted in the Home. Four cer- tified teachers employed by countj board of education live outside. In 1919 four pupils attended business college, two city high school. Home located on 110 acres, buildings situated on eleva- tion overlooking valley, main building four-story stone, forms center of group. Others include aged women's cot- tage, -one-story brick; aged men's cottage, two-story stone; boys' dormitory, two-story stone; hospital, one-story brick, and new school building in process of construction, two- story stone. Present policy complicates plans for care of cliildren. Comparatively few are full orphans. Manage- 550 Child Welfake in Tennessee ment is responsible for care of family groups, including mothers with own children, resulting in dual authority over children. Most difficult problems are experienced, requir- ing utmost tact and patience, firm but kindly regulation. Present management competent and efficient, maintains homelike atmosphere in all departments. 3. Tennessee Odd Fellows' Home Located two miles north of Clarksville. Mr. York, su- perintendent. Founded 1898, "For support of indigent vidows, maintenance and education of orphan children of deceased Odd Fellows." Administrative power vested in board of seven trustees, meets semi-annually; executive comjriittee, residents of Clarksville, meets monthly and on call. Board active through committees. Yearly* budget (1919) $44,536.38, raised through per capita membership assessments of Odd Fellow lodges in Tennessee. Staff con- sists of superintendent, his wife as matron, four assistants, one nurse and in addition two employees. Superintendent and wife formerly in charge of Indiana State Industrial ■ School, good executives, understand children and institu- tional management. Children admitted between ages of 18 months and 12 years. Legal custody required. For past 11 years widows have not lieen received. Seven widows present at time of visit and one "older brother." Children remain in home until able to become self-supporting. Majority released at 16, carefully placed in business positions under supervi- sion of local lodges. Receive excellent care. Medical ex- amination required before admission. Physician employed by year, specialists and dentists employed as needed. In- dividual clothing, toilet articles and ample supply of linen provided. Dormitories well furnished. Diet balanced. Recreation end use of liberty featured. General library re- cently installed by Rebeccas of state at cost of $1,000. Each department has large family living room. Children have own orchestra, band, instruction in violin and piano, spend two hours daily in study, assist with work of institution, personally assigned, and advanced on merit under super- vision. Institutions 55] Hfilftime county school to seventh grade conducted nine months. Four certified teachers paid by county board of education, city course of study and texts used. Children attend Clarksville high school without tuition. In 1919 21 attended high school, 4 attended college, 2 graduated from college. Instruction of vocational value given boys in plumbing, truck driving, electricity, farming, gardening, dairying; girls in household arts, sewing, drafting pat- terns, and care of sick. Home located on 250 acres, 105 acres under cultivation, valuation $75,000. Six buildings include central adminis- tration two-story brick, dining room and kitchen annex; one boys' cottage, two-stoiy brick; hospitaJl, two-story; older brothers' cottage; and laundry. Buildings provided with large verandas, screened, abounding with flowers and vines. Farm equipped with modern machinery, private water and electric light system. Atmosphere natural and homelike. DENOMINATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 1. Bethany Training Home (Pentecostal Church of Naza- rene) Located at 901 Chelsea Avenue, Memphis. Rev. A. J. Vallory, Superintendent. Founded 1916, to "care for un- fortunate girls and their babies, to rescue them from slums and jails and to get them respectable homes." Organized by and superintendent appointed by Pentecostal Church of Nazarene. Governing power vested in board of six direc- tors, appointed by superintendent. Yearly budget (June 1, 1920) $15,633.43, raised by superintendent in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama. Staff of four includes superintendent, matron, assistant matron and office secre- tary. Superintendent a minister, engaged in rescue work several years. Emphasizes as of first importance personal salvation. Not sufficiently alive to social problems involved in care of unmarried mother and her child and responsi- bility of father of her child. Lives outside. Employs as- sistants, dictates policies and program for conduct of Home. Applications for admission are made at Home, none re- 552 Child Welfare in Tennessee jected. Girls admitted from Tennessee, Arkansas, Missis- sippi and Alabama are with few exceptions under 18 years. All sign agreement, "to remain in The Bethany Training Home for a period of six months from date, to abide by all of its rules, to be agreeable to everyone, and to do my best to help carry on the work in the Home." No investigation is made of social history. Superintendent refuses to make inquiry regarding father of child on basis that the mother must break entirely with the past. Legal custody not se- cured. Girls sent to General Hospital as city patients. Home urges mother to keep her child. Limited number of babies given for adoption. Home not licensed for child- placing, secures special license for each placement. Seventy- seven girls received during year ; 59 babies cared for ; 7 died ; 29 left with mothers ; 5 adopted in families ; 4 placed in or- phanages; 14 babies in home June 1, 1920. Girls and babies receive free medical care in Home by private physicians who volunteer services on call. No med- ical staff is in charge. During the year two baths have been installed, sleeping quarters enlarged by enclosing porch on second floor. Double beds used, rooms overcrowded, well lighted and ventilated, sanitary conditions fair. Home occupies about three acres with large lawn and garden. Buildings include large two-story frame residence fairly well adapted to purpose, stable and wash house. All work of institution is done by girls under supervision of staff. The value of service to unmarried mothers and society depends on the management giving problems of health and social conditions due consideration, employing a registered nurse selected because of fitness to care for unmarried mothers and young babies ; a medical staff making regular visits with thorough medical examination on entrance ; keep- ing medical and social record and history; menus and formulas prepared under supervision of physician, with record of daily menus on file in office. Case work should be referred to co-operating agencies in community or as- signed to member of staff qualified to secure social history, search out father of child and act as first friend to mother Institutions 553 and child for any number of years required to re-establish her. 2. Church Home (Protestant Episcopal) Located 750 Jackson Avenue, Memphis. Sister Anna Christine, superintendent. Founded 1865 by Protestant Episcopal Church as orphan asylum to care for children. Administration vested in board of seven trustees appointed by bishop of diocese and board of about 45 lady associates appointed by superintendent. Trustees meet annually, as- sociates monthly. Active through committee. Budget (May 1, 1919) $15,410.36, raised by committees through general subscription, cash contribution, churches, Christmas collec- tion, and privately supported cots. Approximately 40 per cent of inmates last year paid board. Donations other than cash systematically organized. Staff of four includes su- perintendent, one registered nurse in charge of children, one assistant nurse, one clerk. Sister Anna Christine has been in charge more than 35 years. No children received under two years. Few committed through court. Applica- tion for admission not investigated. Legal custody not re- quired. Children seldom placed ; majority return to parents ; a few sent to special schools. Length of time in home varies from B months to 15 years. Medical examination not required on admission; isola- tion cottage provided for contagion ; medical staff, four phy- sicians, seven specialists and two dentists, volunteer service on call. Bathing facilities adequate for daily baths; indi- vidual clothing and toilet articles provided. Dormitories equipped with single beds, springs, good mattresses; ven- tilation and lighting excellent. Dining room equipped with small tables. Diet balanced. Children's library and play equipment used constantly. Work of instituiton done by children under direction of superintendent; promotion on merits. Eewards offered for special skill. Older girls paid for tasks such as cooking and laundering when Home is without cook and laundress. Savings accounts encouraged. Banking taught older children, first aid and care of sick taught all ; boys given training for business, girls for busi- ness and nursing. Public school to ninth grade conducted 554 Child Welfare in Tennessee in Home by Memphis Board of Education, three certified teachers paid by city. Children attend high school. Home occupies 9 1-2 acres in residence district; includes beautiful lawn, playground, garden and a three-story brick building. Home plainly furnished, immaculate at 9 a.m. Equipped with overhead sprinkling system and outside fire- proof stairs. Atmosphere combined freedom and restraint. System of merits and demerits awarded by superintendent. Each child is tested as to his ability to meet standards of training, and failing, is dismissed. All children under 9 spend summer at cottages in Ozark Mountains, Arkansas, property of superintendent, used for summer camp since 1916. Girls live in cottage, "St. Mary-in-the- Woods" ; boys at "St. Joseph Farm." Last year 43 children were accom- modated at one time. Records show improvement in health and scholarship. Summer camp supported by private funds. 3. Convent of Good SheperJ (Roman Catholic) Location, 20 North Lumpkin Avenue, Memphis. Mother Superior in charge. Founded November, 1875, for "Ref- ormation of fallen . . . women and a home or house of refuge for abandoned and vicious girls." Administration vested in board of 14 Sisters of Good Shepherd, responsible to provincial convent and a citizens' commitee appointed by Mother Superior, active in publicity and finance. Yearly budget (August 3, 1919) $45,728.95, received through cash donations, benefits, sewing and factory departments, board of pay pupils, and bequests. Staff consists of Mother Su- perior and 14 Sisters of Good Shepherd. Employ farm man and wife. Junior department receives girls between ages of 6 and 10, not placeable in an orphanage or with other children from neighboring states and Tennessee. Girls committed through courts and on application of parents or guardian. Legal custody not secured. Girl never dismissed or returned with- out approval of person responsible for commitment or with- out approval of juvenile court of Memphis. Time in Home varies from three months to 12 years. Careful physical examination given on admittance. Volunteer staff includes physician who visits daily and on call, specialists and den- Institutions 555 tist. Hospital and dental equipment complete. Excellent care given. Junior and senior departments separated. In- dividual toilet articles and clothing furnished. Dormitories equipped with single beds, mattresses and springs, adequate ventilation, light and fire escapes. Dining room well fur- nished, cheerful, homelike. Diet varied and adequate. Daily reading, with library in constant use. Play apparatus and cheerful recreation rooms provided. Work of institution done by girls -under careful direction, tasks suited to phys- ical and mental condition. Individual development em- phasized. Full-time school to eighth grade conducted in Home. Girls taught household arts, gardening, farming, according to tastes and ability. Farmer has charge of dairy, chickens, hogs and garden. Home occupies several acres in sparsely settled neigh- borhood. Lawns and grounds contain large shade trees, plants and shrubs. Large three-story brick building, con- gregate plan. Furnishings substantial, homelike, atmos- phere cheerful and natural. Everybody busy all the time at work or play. 4. Industrial Home and School (Methodist Episcopal South) Located at Greenville. Rev. M. J. Wysor, Superinten- dent. Founded 1895, "To take care of such orphans and other poor children, white only, as may be in need of men- tal, moral and industrial training "... free of cost." Conducted by Women's Home Missionary Society, Holston Conference, Methodist Episcopal ,Church, South. Board of control nine members; six women elected annually by Wo- men's Home Missionary Society, three men elected annually by Holston Conference. Meet semi-annually. Greenville has no representative at present (1920). Board active in securing support. Conference includes territory of Western Virginia, Eastern Tennessee and West Virginia. Yearly budget (December 31, 1919) $16,225.20, raised throughout Conference by fifth Sunday collection in all Sunday schools, and percentage of assessments W. H. M. S. Net produce from farm this year approximates $3,600. Well organized donations include canned fruit and all new individual cloth- 556 Child Welfare in Tennessee ing. Staff of seven consists of superintendent, assistant and wife in charge of boys, matron-housekeeper, matron in charge of girls, two teachers, one acting as secretary. Su-, perintendent is minister Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Directs work of farm. Children call him "Daddy." Children admitted between 2 and 12 from boundaries of conference. Application investigated by superintendent, by pastor or W. H. M. S. in home locality. Legal custody always required. No pay pupils received. Preference given to orphans. Length of time in home, 1 to 10 years. Child-placing done by superintendent; investigation of fos- ter home made by pastor or W. H. M. S. in locality. State forms used, references required and recommendation of local pastor. Probation period 90 days, during which pastor visits home and child. Expiration of probation, family re- quired to agree to raise child as member of family, to adopt him or return him to Home. General physical examination required before admittance; physician's report accompanies application. House physician employed by year, practically as volunteer, visits weekly and on call. Dental service pro- vided only as occasion demands. Children bathe and change clothing twice weekly. Individual toilet articles and cloth- ing provided. Dormitories have single beds, good light, ventilation, ample space but overcrowded for lack of beds. Balanced diet includes farm produce, fruit, vegetables, meat and milk. Large campus used for playground, apparatus limited, creative initiative of children encouraged. Larger children assist with work of institution carefully chosen and personally supervised by matrons in each department and by superintendent on farm. Each child responsible for his own bed, clothing and locker. School, including kindergarten, conducted in home to ninth grade. Eleven children attended Greenville high school in 1919-20. City course of study, texts, system of grading and promotion used. Two certified teachers paid by Home belong to Teachers' Clubs. School supervised by Greenville Board of Education. Plans are ready for new school build- ing to replace one destroyed by fire several years ago. Chil- dren attend church and Sunday school outside. Institutions 557 Home located on 95-acre farm about one mile from busi- ness center of Greenville; 80 acres under cultivation. Campus beautifully wooded. Buildings on. natural slope back from street, include central building, two-story frame^ originally farm house; two cottages, two-story brick, some distance on either side, for boys' and girls' departments. Barn, garden, and farm to the rear of central building. Atmosphere of home is cheerful, free, like one big family. 5. Monroe Harding Children's Home (Presbyterian Church South) Located at 1621 18th Avenue, North, Nashville. Miss Elizabeth J. Fuller, superintendent. Founded 1893 by Synod of Presbyterian Church, South, "A home for orphan children, providing for their care and maintenance." Ad- ministrative powers vested in board of twelve directors, residents of Nashville, appointed yearly by Synod, meet monthly. Also advisory board of eight from the state, ap- pointed yearly by Synod, and a women's board of sixteen, appointed by board of directors, active through committees with details of management. Yearly budget (October, 1919) $13,888.36, raised through percentage of benevolences of churches in Synod, by organized donations and county allowance of 10c per day for legal residents of Davidson County. County fund for one year was $469. Staff con- sists of superintendent and matron who employ one yard man during summer. Superintendent in charge 10 years, competent, understands ct.ild life, sfudies individual child, emphasizes personal relationship. Children admitted between ages 3 and 12 from within boundaries of Synod. Application signed by local Presby- terian pastor. Medical certificate accompanies application. Legal custody always required. No commitments through court. Length of time in Home 1 to 12 years. Do a limited amount of placing. Are licensed for child-placing. Homes are carefully selected through committee of Board of Direc- tors, recommended and personally supervised by local pas- tors. Children receive excellent care. Medical staff volun- teers service on call. Individual toilet articles and individ- ual clothing furnished. Large lawn used for play, limited 558 Child Welfare in Tennessee amount of equipment includes tennis, croquet, baseball and toys. Children's library in daily use. Each department has a living room to which children have free access. Older children assist with work of institution. Over 50 per cent are provided with vacations during summer, varying from two weeks to three months. Children attend Nashville pub- lic school. Fifteen attended high school 1919-20 ; six attend- ed two-year business course. Special business training and business positions are favored. Home occupies 10 acres in sparsely settled factory-resi- dence section of Nashville. Old Harding residence, a two- story brick, used for boys' cottage. Some distance away, three-story brick building for dining room, kitchen, girls' dormitories and administrative offices. Spirit of Home free and homelike. 6. St. John's Orphanage (Protestant Episcopal) Located 2403 Linden Avenue, Knoxville. Sister Helen Giles, Superintendent. Founded 1873 by St. John's Protes- tant Episcopal Church, for care and education of dependent children. Administrative powers vested in board of trus- tees, elected yearly by parish and 18 lady managers appoint- ed yearly by rector. Trustees have charge of property, en- dowment and business. Meet annually. Lady managers meet monthly at the Home, active through committees on Finance, sewing, buying, admission and discharge. Annual budget (January 1, 1920) $6,395.89, raised through private contributions of churches and individuals. Sister Helen in charge many years, sweet spirit, understands children, is competent and untiring in devotion to those under her care. Employs no assistants during vacation, one cook and house- keeper during school year. Children between 3 and 12 admitted through court and on application of parent or guardian. Legal custody always required. Length of time in home 2 to 12 years. Limited amount of placing done through committee from Board of Lady Managers, licensed for child-placing. Children re- ceive excellent care, balanced diet, frequent bathing and change of clothing. Playground well equipped. Children's library in constant use. Children attend Knoxville public Institutions 559 school, church and Sunday school outside, participate in natural child-life in their neghborhood. Home located in sparsely settled residence section; a two-and-one-half-story brick structure, vine-covered, with large verandas and beautiful lawn. Atmosphere that of a family home. 7. St. -Mary's Orphanage (Roman Catholic) Located five miles from Nashville near Harding Pike. Sister Superior in charge. Rt. Rev. T. S. Bryne, D. D., Presi- dent. Founded 1850 to "shelter, nourish and educate orphan and dependent children, to train them physically and moral- ly, to provide for their proper rearing and education, so as to enable them to be useful and independent members of the community when they become adults." Administrative powers vested in board of directors appointed by bishop of diocese and conducted by Dominican Order of Sisters, Roman Catholic Church. Annual budget (December 31, 1919) $24,158.29, raised by Board through parish collec- tions, contributions. Fourth of July picnic, and county ap- propriation of 10c per day for legal residents of David- son County. County appropriation for one year $2,495.50. Parents pay board for about 25 per cent of children. Di-, rectors active. Local priest, as secretary, heads committee on admission. Staff consists of eight Sisters of Dominican Order, one chaplain, one farm man. Mother Superior, an educator, keenly appreciates individual development of chil- dren, keeps full and accurate records and emphasizes their value both to management and to children in later years. Children admitted between 2 and 14 years through ju- venile court and local priest, mostly from Davidson County. Legal custody always required. Length of time in Home, 1 to 14 years. Children usually return to parents. Do little placing. Licensed for child-placing. Children receive ex- cellent care. Medical examination required before admis- sion. Volunteer medical staff serves on call. Bathing facil- ities adequate. Individual toilet articles and clothing fur- nished. Uniform used only on school occasions. Dormi- tories well lighted, ventilated, provided with single beds, ample supply of linen. Diet balanced. Library in daily 560 Child Welfare in Tennessee use. Large playground, limited equipment includes tennis, basketball and baseball; competitive games played with outside groups. Children assist with the work of Orphan- age under supervision. Full-time school conducted in Or- phanage by three teachers. Three study halls and chil- dren's library furnish adequate equipment for school. Orphanage occupies 150-acre farm, congregate plan, buildings located on knoll some distance from the road, large two-story white stone structure surrounded by shade trees and large lawn. Dairy barn and stock sheds are lo- cated at the rear. Atmosphere of the institution free and natural. 8. St. Peter's Orphanage (Roman Catholic) Located Poplar and McFrau Streets, Memphis. Sister Estelle, Superintendent. N. J. Roath, President. Found- ed 1841 as "charity for orphans and homeless children." Administrative powers vested in board of 33 directors ap- pointed by Sisters in charge, meet monthly, elect officers annually. Budget (January 1, 1920) $29,395.28, raised through parish collections, donations and Fourth of July picnic. Board active. Staff consists of 15 Sisters of Char- ,ity. Sisters are sweet-spirited, devoted, much overworked with details of household tasks, helpless to protect Orphan- age against imposition in receiving foundlings. Employees include two laundresses, one yard man, one colored boy. Children admitted under 14 from Tennessee and neigh- boring states. Legal custody not required. Length of time in Orphanage 1 month to 18 years. Place limited number in family homes after inquiry through local parish. Li- censed for child-placing. Babes given for adoption only through juvenile court. Children lack individual attention. Medical examination not required on admission. Large number of doctors volunteer service on call. Older chil- dren have individual toilet articles. Individual clothing not furnished, uniform used on group occasions. Dormitories overcrowded, well lighted and ventilated with possible ex- ception of boys' dormitory. Single beds, good mattresses, adequate linen provided. Diet balanced. Children's library in constant use. Play apparatus limited. Work of institu- Institutions 561 tion and care of small children done by older children under supervision. Half-time school to eighth grade, conducted in Orphanage by five Sisters including one teacher each of domestic science, sewing and music. Religious services conducted in the Orphanage. Orphanage occupies several acres near outskirts of Memphis. Congregate plan, with the oldest building in center, gives imposing entrance of typical institutional de- sign. One wing provides nursery department, another the girls' department. Furnishings and equipment well adapt- ed for purpose, show economy and long usage. Hospital rooms in nursery well equipped. Baby baskets swinging from ceiling, furnish department for tiny babes. Atmos- phere of Orphanage is institutional, not repressive, but deadening to individuality. Sisters do not have sufficient help to permit individual attention to any of the children. 9. Tennessee Baptist Orphan's Home (Baptist) Located at Franklin, 12 miles south of Nashville on Franklin Pike. Rev. W. J. Stewart, Superintendent. Founded 1891, "for the purpose of procuring the control of orphans and destitute white children as the Board of Managers may think proper to receive, of supporting and educating them in an institution, of securing homes by hav- ing them adopted or apprenticed in conformity to the laws . . . to educate any of said children outside of said institution when deemed advisable." Administrative pow- er is vested in' board of managers under the Baptist churches in Tennessee. Board active. Annual budget (October 31, 1919) $38,664.42, raised by superintendent through contributions by Baptist churches, individual sup- port of children and a portion of the "Five Million Dollar Fund" of the Baptist Church. Staff consists of superin- tendent, his wife, four matrons, two assistant matrons and four teachers. Superintendent is minister in Baptist Church. Children are admitted between 3 and 12, application made to superintendent. Physician's certificate required to accompany application. References required. Length of time in Home 1 to 14 years. Policy does not emphasize 562 Child Welfare in Tennessee child-placing; not licensed for child-placing. Children re- ceive excellent care. Assist with work of institution under supervision. Half-time to tenth grade conducted six days each week for nine months. Certified teachers employed include domestic science, kindergartener, business and music. Older children are sent to special schools ; frequent- ly expense is borne by individual who has supported the child. Home located oh 264-acre farm. Five brick buildings, all new, include four cottages and superintendent's home. Children are classified in cottages according to age. Baby cottage, from 3 to 6; "Barton" for boys, "Creek" for girls between 6 and 12, "Eastman" for older girls. Farm equipped with modern machinery. Contributes largely to the support of the institution. Children appear happy, free, as one big family. 10. Tennessee Orphans' Home (Church of Christ ) Located at Columbia. Mrs. G. Lipscomb, Superinten- dent. Founded 1909, for support and education of or- phans. Administrative powers vested in board of 14 di- rectors appointed annually by self-perpetuating. Meeft; semi-annually. Also advisory committee of five women ap- pointed by the board meets monthly; executive committee meets weekly. Board active through committees. Annual budget (May 31, 1920) $12,867.05, raised by board of di- rectors through private contributions, church donations, board of children and support of an individual child. Staif consists of superintendent, four matrons, one seamstress and in addition three employees. Superintendent formerly in charge of boys' dormitory at Nashville Bible School. Children admitted between 3 and 12. Applications are made to committee on admittance, family conditions are in- vestigated previous to admittance. Keeping family togeth- er in its own home is urged as responsibilty of every com- munity. Children come from over the state. Legal cus- tody not required. Length of time in Home 1 to 3 years. Place children in family homes only after careful and per- sonal investigation by committee. Time of probation not fixed. Adoption not permitted until satisfactory adjust- Institutions 56;-> ment between child and family. Licensed for child-placing. Medical examiiiation required prior to admittance. Phy- sicians volunteer service on call. Individual toilet articles, individual clothing furnished in limited amount. Bathing facilities and supply of linen not adequate. Dormitories well lighted and ventilated, double and single beds used. Diet balanced. Older children assist with work in institu- tion. Recreation and library facilities restricted. Chil- dren attend Columbia public school and church outside. Older children given business training. Home occupies about three acres across the street from Columbia high school. Three-story brick building with basement equipped for dining room, kitchen and storeroom, is well arranged for children's home. Fire escapes are be- ing installed. The Home owns 275 acres about four. miles from Columbia, 100 acres under cultivation. The farm, in run-down condition, is now in charge of experienced farmer on a "fifty-fifty" basis. Milk and fresh garden produce are delivered daily to the Home. Present administration became effective October, 1917, after the reign of a superintendent who nearly wrecked the Home, and against whom several indictments were secured. Under present administration all debts have been paid and the way is open to add furniture and equipment needed throughout the building, to create a cheerful, natural, home- like atmosphere by rearranging rooms to include a large family living room on first floor to which children have free access, to install play equipment for the yard and veranda. The Advisory Committee and the Board of Directors have several such plans in the making. 11. William H. Dunlap Orphanage (Associate Reform Pyesbyterian) Located nine miles from Brighton. J. H. Taylor, Super- intendent. Founded 1902, "for care and education of'help- less children." Administrative power vested in board of trustees appointed annually by Associate Reform Presbyte- rian Synod, Board meets annually. Executive board of six appointed annually by Synod, meets monthly at Orphan- age. Trustees and executive board active through commit- 564 Child Welfare in Tennessee tees. Yearly budget (December 31, 1919) $6,443.34, raised through assessments based on number of members of each church in the Synod, by monthly collections in each church, and a limited number of pay pupils. Staff includes super- intendent, his wife as matron, one assistant and 1 hfelper. Superintendent and wife for 10 years in charge of boys' cottage at Tennessee Industrial School. Superintendent directs boys in farm work; his wife — a practical nurse — directs life in home, kindly and motherly in her relation to the children, gives them individual study and care. Children between 3 and 12 are admitted through execu- tive board, from within boundaries of Synod. Legal cus- today not required. Length of time in Orphanage. 1 to 14 years. Policy does not include placing. Four children placed last year. Not licensed for child-placing. Children receive good care. Medical certificate accompanies appli- cation for admittance. Volunteer physician three miles dis- tant, visits on call. Bathing facilities inadequate. Indi- vidual toilet articles and individual clothing provided. Food includes own' farm produce, fruit, vegetables, milk and meats. Children assist with the work of the institution and the farm. A county half-time school is conducted in a one-room school building on the campus. One certified teacher, paid by county under county supervision, lives outside. Children formerly attended a district school located about half-mile distant. Reason given for the change, required too much of the children's time to enable them to do the work of the institution. Church and Sunday school conducted in a chapel located on campus, provides a rural church under Associate Reform Presbyterian. The Orphanage occupies 342 acres, of which 187 are under cultivation. A two-story frame building houses the entire group. Besides barns, dairy and usual farm build- ings, the plant includes a schoolhouse and a chapel. Chil- dren appear to be happy, mingle naturally in neighborhood life with the exception of the public school, and use freely the large, heavily wooded campus. Institutions 56?, non-denominational institutions 1. Blount County Industrial Ho me i^ocated on Cunningham StreeCMaryville Miss Car penter, Matron. Mrs. E. E. Hunt;r, President. Founded 1894 as a home for destitute children to take them out of and prevent their being sent to the "poorhouse." Board of 10 women directors elected annually, meets monthly, active through committees. Yearly budget (May, 1920), $2 300 $2,000 appropriation by Blount County Court, balance raised by private subscription. The matron and one assist- ant comprise the staff. Children are admitted between 3 and 12 from Blount County, without thorough investigation. Legal custody not required. Length of time in home, 6 months to 2 years. Children frequently returned to parents, placed in family homes through committee on adoption, without thorough investigation and follow-up supervision. Other children re- ferred to Tennessee Children's Home Society. Not licensed for child-placing. No medical examination given at time of admittance. No facilities for isolation. No hospital available in the county. Physicians volunteer service on call. Children given good physical care. Food balanced and sufficient. Clothing and person clean, well kept. Dor- mitories crowded, bathing facilities limited. Play space restricted, no apparatus, no library, no story or study hour. Older children assist with work of Home. Children attend Maryville public school and Sunday school outside. Home occupies five acres, large garden cultivated by volunteer friendly neighbors. A story-and-a-half frame house is plainly but comfortably furnished. Children seem- ingly happy and free, are in need of carefully-directed work and play of educational value in developing the individual child. 2. Bristol-Nelson School Located at Murfreesboro. Mrs. Cora Bristol-Nelson, Superintendent. Founded 1905 for the care and training of sub-normal and backward children. A private school con- ducted for gain. Administration vested in superintendent. 566 Child Welfare in Tennessee Staff of five assistants include matron, nurse and three teachers. Sub-normal and feeble-minded children admitted from Tennessee and neighboring states. Only pay pupils received. Length of time in the school varies from 1 to 10 years. Full-time school maintained year round. The School is conducted in Mrs. Nelson's family residence, oc- cupying five acres in outskirts of Murfreesboro. Instruc- tion adapted to each child aims "to develop correct habits, proper dress, genial disposition and to surround the chil- dren with pleasant occupation and games." 3. Children's Mission Home Located at 120 West Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville. Rev. R. J. Lauritzan, Superintendent. Founded 1889 for "orphan children without relatives or friends either able or disposed to care for them, receiving and taking care of all such as may legally and properly come under domain and control." Administration vested in board of nine directors, appointed by superintendent, meets semi-annually. Ex- ecutive committee meets on call. Board not active. Annual budget (December 31, 1919) $2,504.41, raised by private subscription and city appropriation of $200. Collector em- ployed full time, paid 40 per cent commission. Staff con- sists of superintendent and wife as matron, who employ one cook. Superintendent German Lutheran minister, aged, emphasizes religious instruction. Matron young woman, not qualified for care of Home or children. Children admitted between 4 and 12 from Tennessee and neighboring states, without investigation. Application usually made by parent. A few are committed by court. Board at $1.50 a week paid by majority. Length of time in home 1 to 3 years. Legal custody never secured. No plac- ing; not licensed for child-placing. Unquestionably children do not receive the best of care. Unbalanced diet includes butter twice a week, milk twice a week, meat daily. Boys' dormitory not well lighted or ventilated ; two bath rooms in poor condition. Common towels used, no tooth brushes pro- vided, older children have individual clothing. No medical examination at time of admittance and inadequate medical Institutions 567 care in Home. Children attend Knoxville public school. Records show all were promoted spring semester, 1920 Home reading confined largely to Bible and religious stories Piay equipment limited. Children assist with housework _ Home for eleven years granted use of an old, two-story brick house in poor neighborhood, left by Robert M Strong to a board of seven trustees to be used for charitable pur- poses. Furnishings old and rooms overcrowded; in need of renovation and repair. Superintendent is doing every- thing of which he is capable to make home satisfactory for care of children. There is need in the community for a temporary board- ing home. We urge development of such a home with board ; committees active with details of management, admittance and discharge ; finance raised by board ; competent matron in charge, chosen because of fitness to work and live with children;. a house physician; providing balanced . diet suit- able for growing children; using social agencies in com- munity or committee from Board of Directors for thorough investigation of family conditions before children are accept- ed or dismissed ; keeping social, health and school histories of each child. 4. Children's Refuge Located at 607 Kirby, Chattanooga. Miss L. E. Shir- lock, Matron. Mrs. R. S. Reed, President. Founded 1888, as "House of refuge . . . for care of destitute and needy children." Administrative power vested in King's Daugh- ters. Officers elected annually. Entire membership active through committees. Yearly budget (December 31, 1919) $6,029.59, raised by private subscription, county appropria- tion $1,000, city appropriation $300. Donations, not cash, well organized. Limited number of pay pupils. Staff con- sists of matron, one assistant, one volunteer resident assist- ant and in addition two employees. Matron in charge 17 years, formerly teacher, understands children. Atmos- phere resembles that of a school. Children admitted after careful investigation by committee, largely from Hamilton County. Majority have one living parent. Policy to help 568 Child Welfare in Tennessee mother or father keep children. Legal custody never se- cured. Length of time in Refuge 3 months to 2 years. Chil- dren returned to parent or guardian. No placing. Not licensed for placing. Children receive excellent care. Med- ical examination required before admittance. Volunteer physician visits on call. Public health nurse and physician examine all children twice during the year. Individual toilet articles and clothing provided. Children attend Chatta- nooga public school, mingle naturally in neighborhood life. Refuge occupies two lots in residence section; a two- story brick building resembles an apartment house. Ample grounds for lawn and play. Business arrangement with matron is open to criticism. King's Daughters pay matron .50 cents per day for care of each child, and in addition fur- nish coal and clothing. Matron uses money paid for chil- dren's board to provide shoes. All of the business manage- ment rests with the matron on this basis. There is no feel- ing that children are not properly cared for, but as a busi- ness arrangement the system is open to question. 5. Ella Oliver Refuge Located at 903 Walker, Memphis. Mrs. Hornsby, Matron. Mrs. George A. Clarke, Chairman. Founded 1883 for "Rescue work with unfortunate girls." Administrative power vested in board of 15 directors of Women's Christian Association. A house committee of five appointed annually by board, meets monthly at Refuge. House committee ac- tive in details of management Nine months' budget (June, 1920) $2,400.12, raised by Women's Christian Association through endowment, through income from Anna Brinkley Home, and a limited number of fees. Staff includes matron' and two practical nurses. Matron advanced in years, almost blind, employed in the Refuge for many years. Girls ad- mitted upon application to matron, from Tennessee and neighboring states. Length of time in Refuge determined by circumstances in each instance. Mother encouraged to keep her child. Babes for adoption are now referred to Ten- nessee Children's Home Society. Do no placing, not licensed for child-placing. Girls receive excellent care, medical ex- Institutions 569 amination on admittance, house physician visits on call. Patients may employ physician of own choice. Single rooms, comfortably furnished, are provided. Refuge is located on several lots in sparsely settled residential neigh- borhood. Three-story brick building well planned for the purpose. Should be used to full capacity of 35. Service could be greatly extended by employing as super- intendent in full charge a young woman who will assume responsibility for care of all girls who make application and who understands how to co-operate with social agencies in the community. Present matron kindly and sympathetic, meets all girls who call to inquire, emphasizes the rules of the Refuge, which are not at all severe, but she can not be expected to understand modern standards for social work nor take responsibility for every expectant mother who ap- pears at the Refuge. 6. Florence Crittenden Home Located at 508 Thirty-third Street, Chattanooga. Mrs. Painter, Superintendent. Mrs. Joseph Brown, President. Founded 1875 as a mission home, and in 1890 was made one of the Florence Crittenden national chain of Homes; provides maternity care for girls and young women. Ad- ministrative powers vested in board of directors. Yearly budget (1919) $11,572.00, includes city appropriation of $3,000, county appropriation $1,000 as special war measure. Remainder raised by private subscription and small number of fees. Staff consists of superintendent, experienced in in- stitutional work, and a practical nurse assistant. Girls and young women in need of maternity care admitted largely from Tennessee, sent to local hospital as city patients. Length of time in Home determined by circumstances in each instance. Unmarried mother urged to keep her child; social service and financial assistance given to make it pos- sible. Babes subject to adoption, referred to Tennessee Children's Home Society. No placing. Not licensed for child-placing. Patients receive good care. Thorough med- ical examination on admittance, volunteer physician visits 570 Child Welfare in Tennessee on call. Diets and formulas prescribed and supervision by child specialist. Home located on 11 acres in outskirts of Chattanooga. At present occupies two four-room cottages and nursery annex. During the World War, the Home consented to co- operate with Federal authorities in conducting a military hospital. Cared for approximately 700 interned women and through various committees conducted a creditable piece of social work, separating girls under 11 from those older. First buildings destroyed by fire, were replaced. In Novem- ber, 1919, on the night preceding the day set for its opening, the new hospital was totally destroyed by fire. Board of Directors plan to continue on small scale until they can re- cover from the military experience with its discouraging features. Without question the Home bore a heavy responsibility, not only for the local cantonment and the community but for Federal authorities as well. They should have the unquali- fied co-operation of the community in re-establishing Flor- ence Crittenden standards for maternity care of young wo- men and girls. 7. Florence Crittenden Home Located on Fifth Ssreet, East Nashville. Mrs. J. E. Collier, President. Founded 1874, "To relieve from vice women who have been led away from the path of virtue or who, from their surroundings, are likely to fall into evil ways ... a home of refuge." Not affiliated with the national chain of Florence Crittenden homes. Administra- tive powers vested in women's board of directors, elected annually, meets monthly. Board active through commit- tees on Admittance, Adoption and various functions of the Home. Financed by private funds raised by Board of Di- rectors, by pay patients, and county appropriation of 10 cents per day for legal residents of Davidson County. County allowance one year $709.50. Staff consists of reg- istered nurse as matron, and assistant nurse, with three employees. Girls in need of maternity care admitted on application to the Home, sign agreement to remain two Institutions 571 years, though agreement is not enforced. Legal custody not required. Comparatively few are received through court. Committee on Adoption secures family homes, makes personal investigation before placing. Records show 10 babies placed through adoption in one year. Li- censed for child-placing. Patients receive excellent care; volunteer medical staff visits twice weekly. Special diets and formulas are prescribed and supervised by physician. Board plans to provide vocational training. Since July, 1919, the Home has occupied 13 acres with beautiful grounds, a two-story brick family residence, well adapted for purpose, large verandas, extensive lawn, ideal in every appointment. 8. Home for Friendless Babies Located at 2343 Woodbine Avenue, Knoxville. Mrs. Farmer, Matron. Mrs. J. E. Hazley, President. Founded 1919. "A home for neglected and dependent children." Administrative power vested in board of about 15 directors. Board inactive except president, who does the work of a superintendent. Yearly budget (May, 1920) $3,109.50, raised through private contributions by Publicity Committee of Chamber of Commerce, and by the president. Staff con- sists of matron, a practical nurse in charge of children, and a ward of Florence Crittenden Home as assistant. Children admitted below age of 12 from Knoxville, ma- jority on application of parents. Others admitted through juvenile court and social workers. Inquiry, not thorough investigation, made prior to admittance. Length of time in Home, 1 day to 2 years. Legal custody never secured. Children returned to parent or referred for adoption to Ten- nessee Children's Home Society. No placing; not licensed for child-placing. Medical certificate required on admit- ance. Two physicians, baby specialists, volunteer services, make examinations before entrance, visit daily and on call. Formulas prescribed and supervised by house physicians. Free clinics also used. Babies receive fair care, older chil- dren care for each other. Individual toilet articles and cloth- ing not provided, clothing ill-fitting and poorly cared for. Dormitories over-crowded. Balanced diet, . includes butter 572 Child Welfare in Tennessee twice daily, milk and buttermilk daily, meat once a week, eggs once a week, fruit and vegetables. Children attend Knoxville public school. Home is granted free use of two-story frame house, property of Florence Crittenden Home. Furnishings and equipment show economy and hard usage. Large lawn used for play. Extended and permanent value of the Home in the com- munity requires an active committee on Admittance of Board of Directors, co-operating with social agencies in thorough investigations prior to admittance; providing suf- ficient help to care properly for children and limiting num- ber admitted according to equipment and size of staff. Fol- lowing these additions, plans for not far distant future should include a new building in outskirts of city, construct- ed especially for use as a baby home. 9 . John Thomas Fresh Air Camp Located in Cumberland Ridge, 1 1-2 miles from Craggie Hope, 1-2 mile from Memphis-Bristol pike. Miss Fannie Battle, Secretary of United Charities. Mr. Houser, Super- intendent. Founded 1904 by the United Charities, Nash- ville, as a summer camp for women and children; later a winter cottage was added. Administrative power vested in 15 directors elected annually, meets quarterly. Women's Auxiliary of seven members appointed by directors, meets monthly. Annual budget (1919) $5,200.75, raised by Board of Directors and Women's Auxiliary through private sub- scription and county allowance of 10 cents per day, for legal residents of Davidson County. County fund last year, $1,808.50. Staff in charge of camp during summer includes superintendent, his wife as matron, one registered nurse, one play supervisor and four employees. Visiting mothers are given work according to their ability. Mothers with children, boys under 12, girls under 20, are admitted through secretary of United Charities, Nash- ville. Application made by juvenile court, social agencies, and parents. Length of time in camp, 1 month to 4 years. Legal custody not secured. Mothers with children return to their homes; 45 children remained during winter of Institutions 57:? 1920 ; others returned to parents. No placing. Not licensed for placing. Mothers and children receive excellent care. Medical examination required before admittance. Volunteer doctor on call from Nashville. Food adapted to needs of individuals under supervision of dietitian, includes dairy and farm produce. School to ninth grade conducted nine months; one cer- tified teacher, with cadet assistants. Course of study and texts of Nashville Board of Education used. Nearest pub- lic school is Craggie Hope. Supervised study and story hours featured. Children attend rural church in neighbor- hood. Play supervisor has organized boys' and girls' clubs, including Little Mothers' Clubs. Individual development and initiative emphasized and encouraged. Superintendent grants rewards in form of v\^eekly payment for tasks espe- cially well done, encouraging savings accounts. Camp occupies 165 acres with 45 under cultivation. Location is ideal for a summer health camp. Property formerly owned by Nashville Trout Pond Company. Twelve buildings, including a permanent winter cottage, two-story frame, one summer dining room and open dormitories, nine two-room summer cottages, a play pavilion, spring house and laundry are grouped along a beautiful ravine abound- ing with springs. Children enjoy the freedom of grounds with the life of a happy, contented, health-loving family. Opening of new pike from Memphis to Bristol gives easy access. With ideal health conditions and isolation, the Camp should be developed as a health resort for poor mothers and children, those requiring care throughout the year re- maining in the winter cottage. The camp's best useful- ness lies in developing camp feature for certain well de- fined groups, not permitting it to develop into a permanent home for children. 10. Knoxville Colored Orphans' Home Old location, 921 Vine Street. New location, Brandau Hill, Knoxville. First home opened 1914 by "Saint Betty" Thompson of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, for the care of homeless negro children. Betty and her hus- 574 Child Welfare in Tennessee band, Randolph Thompson, took children into their own home, and without board of directors, solicited money from own people before they established an orphanage. Yearly budget approximated $900. Children admitted between 4 and 10, majority from Knoxville. Co-operated with ju- venile court, truancy officer and other social workers. D., as secretary of Board of Directors. New home located Legal custody never secured. No placing in family homes. Employment secured for children and supervision con- tinued. Conditional license granted in 1920. Children did not receive good care as measured by accepted standards. Training and influence of home prepared them for respon- sible positions in the community. Helped with work in the Home under Betty's direction and attended Knoxville pub- lic school. Church and Sunday school conducted in chapel connected with Orphanage by Betty's husband. Home lo- cated in undesirable residential neighborhood, not adequate- ly equipped and unsanitary. Reorganization effected October, 1919, R. S. Beard, M. on Brandau Hill, opened August 2, 1920, "To maintain a home for orphans and dependent children ... to care for babies whose mothers are forced to leave them by day and work." New board of directors, including leading col- ored citizens of Knoxville, recently purchased four acres at cost of $6,500. The 9-room 2-story frame house has been remodeled and furnished by negro citizens. Total in- debtedness at time of opening less than $4,000. Funds raised by private subscription among negro churches and organizations. Plans for conducting Orphanage embody highest accepted standards and the Knoxville Colored Or- phans' Home promises to be one of the most creditable in- stitutions in the state. 11. Nashville Priv ate Maternity Hospital Located at 1230 Second Avenue, South, Nashville. Mrs. J. H. Swinney, Superintendent. Founded July 1, 1919. A private maternity hospital. Is not incorporated, has no board of directors, no medical staff. Receives only pay patients. Is conducted as a private institution for gain. Women and girls needing maternity care are admitted from Institutions 575 Tennessee and neighboring states. Applications are made to the superintendent. No court commitments during 1919; Babies for adoption are referred to Tennessee Children's Home Society. No children and no juvenile expectant mothers present at time of our visit. 12. Porter Home and Leath Orphan Asylum Located 805 N. Manassie Street, Memphis. Miss Barr- ing, Superintendent. Mrs. W. S. Myrick, President. Found- ed 1852, "To provide a home for white children not properly cared for and to procure for them good homes by adoption and otherwise." Administrative powers vested in board of 11 trustees in charge of funds and endowment, also a board of 51 woman directors who annually elect 'a board of 20 lady managers. Trustees meet annually, directors annual- ly, and managers monthly. Groups active through fifteen standing committees. Annual budget (April 1, 1919) $15,- 000.60, raised through income from $160,000 endowment, from board of children, from church contributions, dona- tions and benefits. Staff consists of superintendent and as- sistant in charge of office, three matrons, two practical nurses, three teachers paid by Memphis Board of Education and in addition nine employees. The superintendent, a reg- istered nurse, formerly superintendent of a hospital, took charge a few weeks prior to visit. Understands institu- tional management and children's health problems. Boys under 10, girls under 14, admitted from Western Tennessee and neighboring states. Applications made to committee on admittance. Legal release seldom secured. Length of time in Home 2 months to 10 years. Placing in family homes done by committee on home-finding. Li- censed for placing. Superficial inquiry made previous to admittance and previous to placing. Supervision neither constant nor personal. Medical examination required at time of admittance. Medical staff volunteer service on call ; house physican visits weekly. Public health nurse lives at Home and inspects all children weekly. Individual toilet articles are provided and individual clothing for older chil- dren. Dormitories well lighted and ventilated, furnished with double beds. Small library and reading room adjoin 576 Child Welfare in Tennessee each dormitory. Diet balanced. ' Daily menus filed in of- fice. Large lawn used for play, equipment limited. Group recreation featured. Volunteer director in charge during summer. Hours for play specified. Children assist with work in institutions and with care of babies. City Board of Education conducts school to eighth grade in the Home. All children old enough are taken to Sababth school in near- by church. Home occupies 32 acres in sparsely settled residential neighborhood. Several acres, heavily wooded, provide ideal park. Three-story brick building, congregate plain, is well arranged for light and ventilation, not adequately equipped with fire escapes. Spirit of home combination of freedom and restriction. Children seem happy and contented. Ad- ministration over-organized, lack co-ordination, with result that committees dominate policies of the Home with too little regard for superintendent. Records of all committees' work are kept in office at the Home. Best development lies in cottage plan, dividing children into small family groups'- under competent housemother. Large park offers ideal location for cottages. 13. Protestant Orphan Asylum Located on Bradford Avenue, Nashville. Miss Reeves, Superintendent. Mrs. W. G. Ewing, President. Founded 1845 for the care of dependent children. Administrative powers vested in a woman's board of directors. Officers elected annually. Board meets monthly. Annual budget (1919) $9,346.10, raised by Board of Directors through pri- vate subscription, endowment and county allowance of 10 cents per day for legal residents of Davidson County. County fund one year $2,610. Parents pay board for about 75 per cent of children. Directors active. Staff during summer consists of superintendent and one practical nurse. During school year in addition three employees in charge of kitchen, laundry and yard. No member of staff has had traning for work with childrn. Experience is only qualifi- cation given. Apparently neither understands child life or modern methods of child-caring. Children admitted between 2 and 12, mostly from Da- vidson County, on application of parents and through court Institutions 577 commitment. No investigation made previous to admit- tance. Children remain from 6 months to 15 years. Policy does not favor child-placing. Licensed for child-placing. Children do not receive individual care, are neither natural nor free, appear repressed. Medical examination not re- quired on admittance. Yearly examination made by volun- teer physician. Older children are furnished individual toilet articles. Individual clothing provided only for school wear. Dormitories with few exceptions are well lighted and ventilated, furnished with single beds, good mattresses and ample bed linen. Large grounds with play equipment are in constant use. Children do the work of the institu- tion under direction of superintendent. The county main- tains full-time school through sixth grade, employs two teachers. Use county course of study and texts. Older children attend Nashville public school. Classes in sewing are conducted during summer. Home occupies 10 acres beyond city limits of Nashville, with a two-story brick building, congregate plan, large lawn, playground, gardens and dairy barns. Atmosphere of home is oppressively institutional. 14. Steel Home for Needy Children (Negro ) Located at 19 Straight Street, Chattanoga. Mrs. Almira S. Steel, Founder-Manager. Founded 1884, "A home for children of the colored race who are destitute of parents or other natural guardians." Incorporated in name of "The Steel Home Association." Board of directors appointed by lyfrs. Steel, as required by Board of State Charities. Board not active, members disclaim its existence. Finances han- dled by Mrs. Steel, personal funds and contributions from North maintain Home. Donations other than cash well or- ganized and generous, include foods, clothing and bedding. Staff consists of Mrs. Steel, who is advanced in years, founder of Home, formerly a teacher, who employs two negro helpers, as housekeeper and teacher. Negro children over 2 years are admitted. Six chil- dren under 8 years present at time of visit. Legal custody not required, applications for admittance not investigated. Length of time in Home ranges from few months to 10 or 12 years. Manager states policy does not approve of plac- 578 Child Welfare in Tennessee ing. Is not licensed for child-placing. Children are sent away with no record except in memory of manager. Sev- eral children, some of them white, have been sent to special schools and colleges. Children in Home do not receive good care. No medical examination is given at time of admit- tance or at any time thereafter. Bathtubs are out of order many months. Children dirty, clothing ragged. Children sleep on piles of rags on veranda and in hall. Food restrict- ed to two meals a day. Diet arranged by manager, using .largely Battle Creek foods. Children are reported to beg through town for something to eat, saying they are hungry. Half-day school conducted in Home last year for seven months with average monthly attendance of 18. One teach- er (negro), not certified. Ungraded classes taught include beginners to sixth grade. Course outlined by manager; books given to Home are used as texts. Home located on three lots in Seventh ward, Chatta- nooga. Deed to property in name of Mrs. Steel's daughter, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. Plant consists of large, three-story brick building without fire escapes ; dining room- kitchen located in basement. Large vacant rooms are well arranged for conduct of a children's home. Second and third floors are unfurnished and unused. Ceilings high, windows large and of sufficient number to supply light and air. Two wide-open stairs lead from front and rear of wide halls. Girls' and boys' dormitoires could be comfortably furnished, and rooms equipped for library, play, sewing and cooking classes, and family living purposes. Sanitary con- ditions are very poor. House bare, with exception of few old bedsteads and schoolroom desks. A room on second floor contains many trunks, most of which are filled with new clothing for children, including gingham aprons, ging- ham dresses, summer nightgowns, outing nightgowns and underclothing. Manager showed writer tier upon tier of new woolen blankets, bed linen, including sheets and pillow- cases, and a large supply of used clothing including quanti- ties of good woolen material, all of which is unused in the Home and covered with dust of many months. Institutions 579 Steel Home has served many negro children. Mrs. Steel has doubtless suffered unjust criticism and persecution for many years. Her story of loss of 11 buildings by fire, of accusations of greed and personal gain, of ridicule, of prose- cutions on false charges, all bear the marks of a martyr. But facts remain. Mrs. Steel is advanced in years, is living under conditions unfit for any woman of her age. With all respect to her purpose and her sincerity, Mrs. Steel cannot be justified in accepting and hoarding clothing and supplies sent her for the Home while helpless little children under her care do not enjoy the benefit of them. Neither can she be justified in restricting growing children to two feedings each day. No authority on child-feeding can accept Mrs. Steel's unsubstantial statement that the children are well fed, not even that they look well-nourished. They do not. The Home should be closed unless Mrs. Steel is willing to organize a board of directors, giving them authority to act, with working committees in charge of admittance, keep- ing records, auditing accounts, providing medical examina- tion and supervision, with a child specialist weighing, meas- uring and supervising children with regard to diet for a period of at least one year, furnishing and equipping dormi- tories with comfortable beds and sending children to pub- lic schools or maintaining public school standards. Mrs. Steel's personal friends, and the citizens of Chattanooga, deeply interested in accepted standards for care and educa- tion of negro children, are willing to support her in such a program if she will permit them to do so. 15. Tennessee Children's Home Society.* Receiving Home located at 901 Acklen Avenue, Nash- ville. Mrs. Claude D. Sullivan, Superintendent. Organized 1914 to "Provide a home for white infants and children who from various causes become public charges in the State of Tennessee . . . for children for whom no provision is made and for foundlings." Administrative power vested in board of 90 directors chosen from 10 congressional dis- * Discussed also in Chapter on Home-Finding. 580 Child Welfare in Tennessee tricts. Meets annually at Receiving Home. A Woman's Auxiliary provides funds for Receiving Home, through dues and benefits. Recently raised money for laundry. An ex- ecutive committee of seven residents of Nashville meets monthly and on call. Administrative groups active through large number of committees. Biennial budget (June, 1918 to 1920) $42,012.90, raised through private donations $14,- 887.90, aid cases $300, state funds $27,225.00. Indebted- ness of $10,000 recently paid in full. Staff includes super- intendent, office secretary, two field representatives, one matron, two assistant matrons, a registered nurse in charge of infant department, three practical nurses and in addition four employees. Superintendent a young woman of con- siderable business ability, formerly connected with educa- tional and extension department of the State Federation of Women's Clubs. Children under 7 are admitted from all parts of state. Application made directly to Receiving Home, investigation prior to admittance. Emergency cases received on recom- mendation of local authorities. Length of time in receiving home from 3 months to 1 year. Legal custody always se- cured. Children placed in family homes. Children receive excellent care. Physician's certificate accompanies applica- tion. Thorough medical examination given at time of ad- mittance. Large staff of physicians and specialists volun- teer service for period of six months. Diet and formula under direction of child specialists. Receiving Home located in residential section, Nashville. Large ground, with ample shade, used freely for play. Two-and-a-half -story brick structure, formerly family resi- dence; has new addition, including nursery department. Bathing facilities limited ; isolation quarters and additional field staff needed. 16. Vine Street Orphanage Located at 240 Vine Street. Miss Frances Carlyon, Su- perintendent. Mrs. Lydia Martin, President. Summer home "Three Oaks" on Signal Mountain. Fouided 1878. Incorporated under Women's Christian Association. Name changed to Vine Street Orphanage, 1913. Purpose, "The Institutions 581 care of destitute and orphan girls and establishing an or- phans' home." Administrative power vested in board of 12 trustees, three elected annually for a period of three years and three representing Young Women's Auxiliary. Board active through 12 committees. Record of each com- mittee's work kept by chairman in own home. Yearly budget (January 1, 1920) $12,533.03, raised through pri- vate subscription by Board of Trustees, through Hamilton County appropriation of $2,500, and Chattanooga appropri- ation of $1,500. Girls' Auxiliary raised $12,000 for im- provements at summer home, 1919. Regular donations other than cash well organized, include meat order for Sun- day dinner 52 weeks in year. Staff includes superintendent, formerly teacher in the Orphange, one teacher, one nurse, a farm superintendent, his wife, and two employees. Children are received — boys under 12, girls under 15 — largely from Hamilton County. Legal custody not required. Length of time in Orphanage, 1 to 14 years. Favor placing in family homes. Place through committee. References re- quired, personal visit frequently made prior to placing. Six months' probation required before legal adoption. Small number placed on agreement that children be raised as mem- bers of family. Licensed for placing. Orphanage was in Summer Home on Signal Mountain at time of visit. Chil- dren receive excellent care. Medical examination and vac- cination required previous to admittance. Individual toilet articles and clothing furnished. Diet balanced, largely farm produce, milk, eggs, vegetables and fruits. Babies' feeding prescribed by children's specialist. Recreation fea- tured; children given freedom of large lawn and woods. Daily story hour provided ; small library and children's mag- azines in constant use. Older children assist with work un- der supervision. Home conducts 12-months' half-time school to eighth grade. Two teachers, one certified ; do not use county or city course of study or texts. Children at- tend church and Sabbath school outside. Summer home beautifully located on Signal Mountain, seven miles from Signal Mountain Inn, a large farm gift to Orphanage last year. Plant includes main building, three- story frame structure formerly used for hotel, well adapted 582 Child Welfare in Tennessee for children's home with possible exception of number of windows in dormitories; a story-and-a-half cottage for babies and a new bungalow under construction for farmer and his family. Private systems installed provide under- ground sewer, electric lights and ample water supply from wells. City home is a three-story brick building on Vine Street, with limited lawn and playground. Attitude of chil- dren while in t^e house resembles that in school, while in the yard happy and natural. 17. Washington County Child's Rescue Association Located at Johnson City. Mrs. Herron, Matron. L. D. Gump, President. Founded, 1916, to care for homeless and neglected children in the county and keep them from the poorhouse. Administrative power vested in board of direc- tors elected annually, active through committees on Finance, Admittance, Adoption, Discharge, Buying, Equipment and Sewing. Annual budget (July 1, 1920) $2,622.58, raised through private subscription. Matron in charge is a prac- tical nurse; employees, a housemaid and a laundress. Children from Washington County admitted between 2 and 12. Legal custody required. Inquiry made, not thor- ough investigation previous to admittance. About 50 per cent are committed through court. Length of time in Home averages 2 years. Children placed in family homes through two committees of Board of Directors, one on Adoption, the other on Admittance, who place children not subject to legal adoption. References required, foster homes not always visited personally, nor closely supervised after placement. All records kept by chairman of committees at their homes. No records kept at Children's Home. Children receive ex- cellent physical dare. Medical examination required, phy- sician's certificate accompanies application. Physician and specialists volunteer service on call. Public 'health nurse visits weekly, inspects all children. Children isolated in case of sickness. Individual toilet articles and individual clothing provided. Dormitories well lighted and ventilated. Diet balanced. Large, well-shaded lawn used for play ; lim- ited amount of apparatus. Older children assist with work in the Home. Children attend Johnson City public school, Institutions 583 Church and Sunday school outside. Older children are sent to special schools for training in business, nursing and teach- ing. Home beautifully located on Roan Hill overlooking John- son City, rents 10-acre farm, property of Col. Matson. Large two-and-a-half-story brick family residence, in excel- lent condition, well adapted for the purpose, is adequately furnished and equipped. The Child Rescue Association as pioneer organization in the county is in position to organize new lines of social work for the county and greatly to enlarge the usefulness of the Children's Home. In addition to present staff is needed a superintendent qualified to work out policies of investigation, admittance and discharge, to assist her com- mittees in standardizing work of home-finding, in develop- ing program for temporary care of unmarried mother and her child, determining need for social and case-working agencies throughout the county. With the recent acquisi- tion of several hundred soldiers of the World War, in the local Federal Hospital, the problems of illegitimacy are in- creasing at such a rate as to challenge immediate attention. Organization of new programs should center as departments of the Washington County Child's Rescue Association. GENERAL DISCUSSION Investigation Prior to Admittance Orphans are named as objects of care in practically all child-caring institutions in Tennessee. A study of institu- tional records shows a very small per cent of the children bereft of both parents by death, a large number have one and many have both parents living. An orphan is legally defined as "A child who has lost one or both of his parents." Institutional workers agree that children deprived of both parents more easily find homes with relatives or family friends than children from a broken home of which a frag- ment remains — a father, a mother, or both father and mother living apart through divorce, separation or deser- tion; that children should not be separated from a parent except as a last resort; neither should a parent be relieved 584 Child Welfare in Tennessee of the responsibility and opportunity of caring for his own children except as a last resort. Three avenues are utilized for investigating applications for admittance : (1) employment of social visitor, (2) co- operation v^rith existing social agencies, and (3) Committee on Admission, Board of Directors. Conditions throughout Tennessee are forcing institutions to receive children vi^ho should never be separated from their own families. Insti- tutions are in position to furnish reliable information about broken homes with their complicated problems, throughout the state. They are besieged with heart-breaking appeals from every conceivable family condition, yet not one, with the exception of the Tennessee Children's Home Society, has sufficient staff or income to employ a visitor with experi- ence and training in social inquiry and family case-work, thoroughly to investigate each application before children are admitted. Limitation is not confined, however, to lack of funds. Only two institutions pretend to co-operate with other social agencies in their community. This is due to a lack of social vision, a lack of sense of responsibility for mieeting the whole need of the family group, and to petty jealousies. No institution in Tennessee uses the confiden- tial registration or exchange in the four cities where they exist, though 50 per cent of all institutions are within easy reach of an exchange. Institutions should not only register all families under their care but should "clear" all names at the time application is made, when the confidential informa- tion available through the exchange would be of most value to them. It is a recognized fact that courts frequently commit children to institutions without a thorough knowledge of family conditions and without utilizing the resources of their own counties for keeping family groups together. Fraternal Homes, with application limited to lodge membership, make careful inquiry and know quite accurately all circumstances surrounding the children's lives. Seven institutions ha^e committee on admission, more or less active; no member of these committees is trained in social investigations and admittance is granted on very superficial inquiry. Still Institutions 585 other institutions make no effort to secure information other than the story told at the time of application, granting or re- fusing admittance at the first interview. Others find babes left on their doorsteps and are wholly in the dark as to whence they came. In every county there are conditions compelling parents to turn to institutions as, at least, the visible expression of friendly help. In several counties the orphanage is the only agency caring for children. Officials in rural counties are perplexed to know what to do with dependent children coming under their jurisdiction. One chairman of a county court raises the question, in the minds of many, when he asks what can be done in his county for dependent children and those just developing tendencies toward delinquency. He refuses to take the responsibility of placing them in family homes for adoption, he refuses to send them to the poorhouse except with their mothers, he refuses to send them to the State Industrial School because of unsatisfactory results with former commitments — he has no one to whom he can turn for help in the difficult task of safeguarding and rebuilding families in their own homes. One widowed mother was making application to an or- phanage for admittance of two beautiful children, ages 5 and 7, at the time of our visit. She had just come from the Industrial School, accompanying her two boys, 9 and 11, who had been committed by court as dependent and incorri- gible. Her story, all too familiar to institutional and family social workers, began, "Ever since their fathei: died three years ago my folks and his folks have been after me to put the children away." A story of broken health, easily sub- stantiated by the emaciated, sunken face from which the last glint of courage had disappeared. Long hours of hard labor over washtubs and scrubbing floors; little tots, too young to attend school, staying alone or with kindly neigh- bors; first reports of Jack playing hookey, and spending long hours with the "tough gang" ; the threatening of the police and finally his commitment to the Industrial School. No widow's pension, no poor relief except one winter when the children were sick, no friendly officer to help work out the problem of the unruly boy and his school attendance, no permanent help except shelter in the poorhouse. 586 Child Welfare in Tennessee With no local authority vested with final responsibility ; with mothers' pensions inadequate and available in only four counties ; with a system of poor relief confined to sup- port in the poorhouse and, with the exception of Davidson County, administered in small doles to families in their homes through magistrates and county courts ; with no of- ficer trained for administering relief ; with courts ineffecutal in prosecution for desertion and non-support; with compul- sory school attendance almost never enforced ; with no sys- tem of probation and th eprotective function of courts inef- fectual — dependent families with little children challenge Tennessee for a program of child welfare, safeguarding the family group, making possible the separation of children from their parents and imposing institutional life only after continuous, patient, well-informed case-work has failed to rebuild or to continue the family in its own home. Attitude Toward Unmarried Mother During the past year, 184 unmarried mothers received care in five private maternity homes in Tennessee: The Bethany Training Home, Ella Oliver Refuge, Florence Crit- tenden at Chattanooga, Florence Crittenden at Nashville, and Nashville Private Maternity Hospital. The Camp Home offering shelter to friendless women does not discriminate against the unmarried mother, although neither organized nor licensed for maternity care ; with the Florence Critten- den Home of Knoxville not functioning, Camp Home is the only shelter available in Knox County. Unfortunately, no data are available to determine what percentage of the num- ber of unmarried mothers in Tennessee receive institutional care. Those who do turn to the institution at the time of their greatest helplessness furnish very definite information bearing on the general attitude of institutional workers, staff and board members toward the unmarried mother and her child throughout the state. As a medical patient, she receives the average medical care provided for the poor. Two homes send her to a local hospital at the time of confinement. Three are equipped with a deli\'ery room and a hospital ward. Prenatal care depends on the length of time she is in the home and the degree to which the superintendent values conditions of Institutions 587 health. Two homes have volunteer house physicians making regular visits twice each week and on call. With one phy- sician bearing the responsibility for the health of all pa- tients, the service is more satisfactory alike to the patient, the physician and the management. Three institutions de- pend on the volunteer services of any one of a long list of physicians who respond on call; this method deprives the patient of consecutive treatment under one physician and does not insure good care or satisfactory results. Four do not employ a registered nurse and their practical nurses are limited to experience in the institution in which they are employed. One home employs a registered nurse as matron. Two have secured the co-operation of a child specialist in prescribing formulas for the babies and special diets for the mothers. Others depend on the matron in charge, and standards do not insure adequate or suitable food. As a social patient, the unmarried mother and her child receive little consideration and in no instance skilled and long-continued friendly service. Approximately 90 per cent of unmarried mothers receiving care in Tennessee's institu- tions are between 14 and 19 years of age; this means that not only the child is a social responsibility but the juvenile mother deserves most tender consideration and the fullest measure of social justice. The 15-year-old mother who said, "I don't want to marry Jack because marryin' him won't be gettin' me out of trouble but will only be gettin' me in," expresses what social and religious workers have found to be true. Time was when her only recourse was marriage with the father of her child, and her only alternative sur- render of her child for adoption, going her way alone and in disgrace. Social workers today recognize that the youth- ful, unmarried mother, not at all a prostitute, is first of all a mother with natural mother-love, that often her child is a child of love and that in caring for the child and ignoring her social needs the task is only half begun. Not only ma- ternity homes but practically all child-caring institutions in Tennessee come in contact with the unmarried mother and share responsibilty for the present lack of social considera- tion. Two maternity homes encourage her to keep her child 588 Child Welfare in Tennessee but only one of these offers the personal and social assist- ance which would make it possible. One has no definite policy except to refuse to advise her one way or the other. Three urge her to give her child for adoption irrespective of circumstances. Coming to her at the time of her greatest helplessness, with no offer of assistance, this amounts to compelling her to surrender her child. One mother coming under observation of the writer left a maternity home and within two hours surrendered her child to an orphanage. One president was perplexed to know what to do with an 18-year-old mother who insisted on keeping her baby. The chairman of a committee on admission for an institu- tion not receiving children under 2, is quite an expert in the adoption of new-bom babes. He is besieged with applica- tions for their admittance to the institution and with all kindness offers help in finding a home. He urges the mother thus to free herself and start anew. With no effort to study all the condition, with no effort to secure voluntary settle- ment with the father of the child and never a thought of prosecuting him for the support of his child, the mother fre- quently reluctantly submits to what seems to her the only way out, and with breaking heart, parts with her baby. In, Tennessee's new program of child welfare, the un- married mother should first receive legal recognition, and should then know that the state offers assistance in friendly, skilled case- work accompanied by a full measure of justice. In the administration of mothers' pensions, the unmarried mother should be included as a beneficiary and should be separated from her child only as a last resort after all else has been tried and has failed. Health The general health of the children is better than might be expected from the meager precautions taken. No insti- tution employs a resident physician, and with two excep- tions none give a thorough examination to each child on ad- mittance, nor record results of that and subsequent exam- inations. It is not customary for any institution to isolate a child when he first enters. The superintendent or matron Institutions 589 look him over and if in their judgment physical examina- tion is needed, they keep him separated from the others until a physician is called. Five institutions have separate hospital buildings. Fifteen set aside dormitory space for use in case of sickness and twenty make no provision what- ever for hospital quarters. With the exception of the five, all must needs depend upon nearby hospitals in case of seri- ous sickness. Practically every institution gives a history of epidemics of diseases common to childhood. How exten- sive these are cannot be determined, as the records are not adequate. Diseases of skin and eyes are common among families whose children come to institutions and are suffi- ciently infectious to require treatment preventing their spread to the other children. The greatest risk comes from not knowing accurately the health of every child, in not giv- ing medical examination, vaccination and isolation upon ad- mittance. Fifteen dormitories are over-crowded, three children often sleeping in a three-quarter bed. In several instances beds are not more than a foot apart. Inevitably, with over- crowding is found the twin-evil of inadequate ventilation. One matron. Children's Mission Home, reports she closed the windows in the boys' dormitory after they go to sleep. Bathing facilities and lavatories are generally provided, though in a few instances are so inadequate as seriously to impair the health and comfort of the children. Chajige of clothing and the use of night clothing are generally suffi- cient to insure cleanliness. The few institutions permitting children to go to bed unwashed, to sleep in their day cloth- ing, invariably neglect them in other ways. Approximately 50 per cent of the institutions use the common towel and do not provide tooth brushes nor have daily cleaning of the teeth. With two or three exceptions, dental work is done only when need becomes apparent. In two instances ojily, teeth are examined at regular intervals. Preventive health work is done only in three or four in- stitutions where children attend public schools and are in- cluded in general health surveys and observations by local public health authorities. There is no feeling that sick chil- 590 Child Welfare in Tennessee dren are neglected, but with two or three exceptions, no in- stitution knows the physical and mental condition of each child. Children with symptoms of skin diseases and con- genital venereal diseases are not always examined and hence it is not known what treatment they need or whether the disease is present in a stage of infection. Outdoor life and regular habits doubtless contribute much to the general free- dom from serious sickness. Food, which always plays so large a part in preventing under-nourished bodies and in insuring good health, varies from menus carefully worked out to more or less haphazard choice of dishes. The general weakness is an exce.ss of starch and lack of milk. Three or four groups of children show lack of nourishing food, not from willful neglect but from ignorance of those in charge and indifference on the part of boards of directors to the details of management in their institutions. Sanitary conditions are an important factor affecting health. The majority of institutions have access to city water and plumbing. Several, more favored, have springs available and have installed their own system of water sup- ply and sewage disposal. Only a few depend upon wells. Generally, sanitary conditions are good. Education Educational programs follow four general plans: (1) children attend public schools in the neighborhood, (2) local boards of education conduct public schools in the institution, furnishing certified teachers on public school schedule, (3) private schools are conducted in the institution, employing certified teachers, following public school schedule and un- der friendly supervision of local educational authorities; and (4) private schools are conducted in the institution, completely isolated from standards and contact with local or state educational authorities. The state institutions conduct part-time private schools with the exception of the Schools for Blind and Deaf and Dumb; do not require certified teachers, standards nor schedules of the public schools ; and are not supervised by local or state boards of education. The County Industrial Institutions 591 Schools employ certified teachers. Hamilton and Shelby follow schedules and standards of county boards of educa- tion, and Knox conforms to standards of Knoxville City Board of Education, with friendly co-operation and super- vision. Eleven private institutions caring for dependent children send their wards to public schools, five conduct in the institutions full-time public schools under local boards of education. Three co-operate with local educational authorities in maintaining standards and their teachers be- long to professional clubs participating in the educational life of the community. Seven conduct private schools, do not follow the course of study of either local or state boards of education, work out their own system of grading, promo- tion, length of daily session and school term, separating themselves entirely from local educational interests. With one exception every institution reported that the majority of children are retarded from one to four years at the time of admittance. It is not unusual for a child to enter at the age of 10 or 12 years who has never attended school or whose attendance has been so interrupted as to leave him without primary education. Institutional children generally are retarded and often deficient in mental development. A valuable study in this field is that conducted in the spring of 1919 by the psychologist of the Memphis City schools. Two public schools conducted in the Porter Home and Leath Orphan Asylum and the Church Home, and in addition Shelby Industrial School co-operated with the psychologist in giving mental examinations using the Binet-Simon tests. In Porter Home and Leath Orphan Asylum 60 pupils were tested; 65 per cent were found to be normal mentally, 20 per cent of these were retarded and 45 per cent up to grade ; 35 per cent not normal mentally were classified as follows . 23.3 per cent tested slow mentality, 5 per cent moron, 3.4 per cent deficient and 3.3 per cent psychopaths. One child was paralyzed, one almost blind, one almost totally deaf, one left- handed, and one defective in speech. In the Church Home, 47 children were tested; 59.5 per cent showed normal men- tality and of these 36.2 per cent were retarded and 23.3 per cent up to grade; 40.5 per cent not normal mentally were 592 Child Welfare in Tennessee classified as follows: 17 per cent tested slow mentality, 10.6 per cent moron, and 13 per cent deficient. One child was blind in one eye, one crippled, four defective in speech and six left-handed. The superintendent of the Shelby County Industrial School completed the test begun by the psychologist in the fall of 1919. Thirty-four children were given the Binet-Simon test; 36 per cent were normal men- tally, 36 per cent were retarded and 28 per cent were feeble- minded. Institutional children certainly deserve opportunity for education equivalent to the minimum standards approved by the State Board of Education. Their needs are greater than those of the children in a family home. All children of school age should conform to the requirements of local educational authorities, in full-time school, maximum school year, in course of study, texts, system of grading and pro- motion. Dependent children should as far as possible at- tend public schools and if numbers make this prohibitive, institutions should co-operate wit heducational authorities in establishing a school in the institution as a part of the public school system. From observation, without exception, children attending public school, mingling with other chil- dren in the neighborhood, have a different attitude in the institution — are more natural, free and childlike. Objec- tions raised are more than over-balanced by the advan- tages. Exposure to contagion might well be feared by the public school under the present plan for health protection in institutions. Insufficient clothing and insufficient help to get the children ready in time are due to lack of finance and lack of vision. Using them half a day to do the work of the instituion is on the surface an injustice to the chil- dren. With part-time school, lack of study and play supervi- sion, in many institutions children spend long hours in idle- ness. In theory, practically every institution aims to give the children training while doing the work of the institu- tion, but in practice household tasks and farm work have educational value in only three or four instances. General- ly a monotonous routine is followed for the purpose of get- Institutions 593 ting the work done without thought of training for the children, and the time required the year round varies from one to four hours daily. We have no feeling that children are overworked, though in two or three instances with the housework done by 8 :30 o'clock in the morning, with no employees and a family of from 55 to 75 small children, we have reason to doubt. We do feel children are not stud- ied personally, that vocational training, classroom work and institutional life are not correlated so as to be of well- rounded educational value. The Individual Child The president of an institution in Tennessee, mother of three children, said if she should leave her children to be cared for by strangers and the strangers did nothing more than provide food, clothing and shelter, she would much prefer that the strangers permit them to die in childhood. Ideals for the development of every child are those of a normal family home. Many factors in an institution deter- mine how far each child is given opportunity for individual development. They are largely the same factors which create the atmosphere of an institution, that ever-present, indefinable something which cannot be concealed or dis- guised. They include personality and adaptability of the staff, esprit de corps, harmony and co-operation within the staff, a real affection for the child, sympathetic understand- ing, tact and ability to meet any occasion and master it with- out crushing the expression of the child. They include or- der, routine, discipline without repression and without deadening individuality. They are sometimes affected by the number of employees and by physical equipment. Un- fortunately, institutions handling large numbers of chil- dren do not seem to be able to avoid a certain degree of institutionalism. Even though children are given freedom of large lawns and playgrounds, they must needs follow a deadening routine, play only at certain hours, work, study and sleep only at certain other hours, march in long lines to school, to meals, to bed, to church, to picnics and to cir- cuses. Numbers influence but do not wholly determine the atmosphere of the institution in spite of the spirit of the 594 Child Welfare in Tennessee staff. St. Peter's Orphanage exemplifies the sweetest spirit of devotion and tenderness yet with individual mothering impossible ; the stamp of institutionalism rests on the face of every child. Tennessee Industrial School typifies another extreme — large numbers, lack of individual care, dingy walls, nothing comfortable or home-like, a deadening at- mosphere of prison-like repression. Knox County Indus- trial School typifies still another — large numbers, crowded quarters, inadequate equipment, dingy walls much in need of renovation, but in spite of it all, the spirit of a big, free, orderly, happy and loyal family. For the most part, persons caring for children in Ten- nessee are devoted to the ideals of their task, though few have training or even experience outside of their own insti- tution and are so occupied with details that they neither read about nor study similar work in their own or other states. Qualifications for executive superintendent vary from the man who for 18 years was in charge of a state institution, who attends conferences of social workers and diligently studies his own and other fields, to a practical housekeeper with no knowledge of and no contact with so- cial work of any kind. Salaries range, according to quali- fications, from $2,400 to $300 a year and maintenance. Private institutions, for the most part, make an effort to teach children correct habits of eating and general con- duct. In many instances they are recognized as the best- behaved children in the community. Everywhere grace is said before each meal. The form includes the stereotyped, loud, monotonous chant in unison, piercing the very soul of the listener; the singing together in low, natural tones, sweet and childlike; and the presence of "Daddy," the su- perintendent, who presides over the meal saying a family grace. All make some provision for attendance upon church and Sabbath school. One county industrial school, caring for both dependents and delinquents, sends the chil- drent to neighboring churches. Three state institutions conduct services on the ground, pastors and religious work- ers from outside serving in rotation. Fourteen private in- stitutions restrict attendance to services conducted in the Institutions 595 institution. Seventeen send the children to churches in the neighborhood. It is difficult for a large institution to provide individual clothing, but, in spite of the amount of work involved, each child should have his own clothing and be taught how to care for it. Children are extremely sensitive on this point, as expressed by Jamie, who asked his superintendent if he might have his own clothing. "I don't care if they have holes in 'em," said Jamie, "but these ain't my holes." In a few instances only, children are poorly dressed and from point of neatness and personal cleanliness are not being trained as to the kind of clothing they should wear or how to care for it, nor are they developing the sense of individ- uality that comes from the possession of one's own clothing. When a Child Leaves What becomes of a child when he leaves the institution and under what conditions is he leaving? The ward legal- ly subject to placement and fitted for life in family homes is discussed in another chapter. But the child not subject to placement leaves the institution at some time through one of four channels : through transfer, return to relatives, to positions secured, or to special schools. He is frequently transferred to another institution after examination reveals defects such as deafness, partial sight, feeble-mindedness, delinquency or crime. Again, kinsfolk through change in circumstances are in position to take the child into their home. State institutions frequently retain him during his minority. Few private institutions keep a boy after 12. Boys are given courses in business, electricity, truck driv- ing, intensive farming, dairying and a few are sent to col- lege. Girls are kept in the institutions until 16 or 17 years of age and are then placed in schools for special training or in positions. Training for business and the teaching profession are coming into favor over the time-honored training for nursing. Many prepare for work in factories, shops, and a limited number for domestic service. Institu- tions seldom place a boy or girl over 12 in a family honie because of repeated unfavorable experiences in the child's being made the drudge of the household. Frequently a 596 Child Welfare in Tennessee child permitted to go back to parents or relatives returns to conditions which are not for his good. More careful inves- tigation on admittance and before the child is released to relatives, would correct many mistakes in this line. Gen- erally, excellent personal service is given in finding suit- able emploment and living conditions for both girls and boys, though in a few instances they leave without personal supervision. Presence of the Feeble-Minded With approximately 526 feeble-minded children in in- stitutions at the time of this study and only 17 in a school established for the care of subnormal children, it is apparent that the feeble-minded child in Tennessee is not only de- prived of training adapted to his particular needs but his presence in institutions with normal children is a great in- justice to both. Unfortunately, we have no means of know- ing how many in addition to 526 are feeble-minded. These figures are reached by actual count of children known to be feeble-minded by those in charge of the institutions. With exception of the Bristol-Nelson School for Sub-normal children, no institution has any way of knowing accurately the number of feeble-minded children under care. The Legislature in its special session of 1920 appropriated $100,000 for an institution for feeble-minded in addition to an appropriation of $10,000 and maintenance, and hence feeble-minded children can soon be removed from institu- tions caring for normal children. SUMMARY There are 40 child-caring institutions in Tennessee, 9 public and 31 private. Two are for children found guilty of crime ; three for defectives ; five for delinquents and de- pendents; five maternity homes; and twenty-five for de- pendents only. Ten provide for negro children, eight re- ceive them and two are not equipped to care for them. Nearly all receive both boys and girls. No hard and fast age limits are required anywhere except in state penal in- stitutions but boys are seldom received over 10 or girls over Institutions 597 16. State institutions have legal custody until discharge or minority. Private institutions seldom keep boys over 12 or girls over 16. Eight religious denominations are represented in the management and support of eleven orphanages; they are Associate Reform Presbyterian, Baptist, Catholic, Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal South, Nazarene and Presbyterian. Three homes are supported by fraternal orders: Knights of Pythias, Masonic, and Odd Fellows. Public funds are used to subsidize eleven private institu- tions. Finances generally are in good condition, books accu- rately kept, many audited annually. All child-caring institutions, public and private, are subject to state inspection and supervision through the Board of State Charities. Private institutions are subject to license through Secretary of State only on approval of the Board of State Charities and all child-placing is subject to approval by this Board. Licenses are issued for a period of one year and may be revoked for violation of law. Thor- ough investigation prior to admittance is generally lacking. The Tennessee Children's Home Society is the only agency employing a full-time visitor; others depend on co-opera- tion of social workers or committees of directors. Institu- tions are compelled to accept children who should not be sep- arated from their families because of lack of any provision for social case work in their home communities. Mothers' pensions are inadequate and administered in only four counties. Public outdoor relief generally is given in doles for a short time. Mothers with little children are offered shelter in county poorhouse. Juvenile protective associa- tion work is practically unknown. One hundred eighty-four unmarried mothers received institutional care during the past year. Two maternity homes encourage such a mother to keep her child ; the gen- eral attitude otherwise inclines her to surrender it for adop- tion. Little effort is made to prosecute father of the child. Medically, both mother and child receive the average care provided for the poor. As social patients, they are general- ly ignored. 598 Child Welfare in Tennessee Health care of children in institutions is, with two or three exceptions, inadequate. Thorough examinations are not given at time of admittance, vaccination and isolation not provided. Five have separate hospital buildings, fifteen set aside dormitory space, and twenty make no provision for hospital quarters. No institution has a resident phy- sician. Two employ a registered nurse. Fifteen dormitories are over-crowded, three children often sleeping in a three-quarter bed. In several instances beds are not more than a foot apart. Bed linen is generally inadequate to provide weekly change. Food generally is well suited to growing children, suffi- cient in amount and variety to assure proper nourishment. Educational facilities offered are in no way officially connected with public boards of education. Eleven private institutions send dependent children to public schools, five conduct full-time public schools in the orphanage under local boards of education, three maintain public school standards, and seven isolate themselves entirely from ou1> side educational interests. Children are generally retarded and 526 are sufficiently defective to be eligible for care in a school for feeble-minded. The individual child receives consideration depending on the personnel of the staff, the spirit of the institution, the order, the routine and the number of children to be cared for. A limited number of executive superintendents have had training for work with children and institutional management. They vary from a highly competent superin- tendent with years of study and experience to the house- keeper without any understanding of social work, of chil- dren, or of institutional management. Children leave through various methods, including trans- fer to other institutions, return to relatives, placement in positions, or special schools, discharge, parole, and place- ment in family homes on agreement or for adoption. Institutions 599 recom'mendations institutions — public and private Supervision Present powers of inspection and supervision vested in the Board of State- Charities should be strengthened through additional staff and clerical assistants in its proposed Child Welfare Department. Survey All institutions in the state are in need of thorough study and examination into the physical and mental condi- tion of all children as a basis for proper classification and transfer to institutions equipped for their care. STATE INSTITUTIONS Administration The State Board of Administration should be vested vfith power to appoint and dismiss executive superinten- dents of all state institutions. Health Minimum requirements of the State Board of Health should be enforced in all state institutions, and its service utilized in semi-anual inspection and examination of all children. Education The State Board of Education should have supervision over the educational work in all state institutions, which should conform in every respect to courses outlined for the public schools and to standards for vocational training. Fire Protection Minimum standards of the State Board of Fire Preven- tion should be enforced and its co-operation secured in semi- annual inspection of all state institutions. COUNTY INSTITUTIONS Boards of trustees of all county institutions should co- operate with the Board of State Charities through its pro- 600 Child Welfare in Tennessee posed Child Welfare Department, directing parole, placing out on agreement, and home-finding under the supervision of this department. private institutions All private institutions need to enlarge their facilities for investigating applications before children are admitted ; to install better systems of medical supervision and the keeping of health records including mental tests; to pro- vide for more speedy removal of children subject to place- ment in family homes, assigning a member of their staff or in conjunction with other social agencies employing a person fitted and trained for the technical work of home- finding and supervision. All children of the age of compulsory education should be given full-time schooling under supervision of local boards of education. Dependent children should as far as possible attend public schools and when placed in family homes regular school attendance should be guaranteed. Play equipment in charge of a paid or volunteer director, small libraries, and a few well-chosen periodicals, should be accessible to all children. CHAPTER X HOME FINDING BY SARA A. BROWN Home-finding, as distinguished from job- and residence- finding, involves the delicate task of carefully selecting family homes for children well fitted for taking their place as members of the family group. Best authorities on child- life recognize that however home-like an institution may be, children are much better off when reared in family homes. Tennessee has officially recognized this as the highest ac- cepted standard for the care of dependent children by estab- lishing a child-placing department, by subsidizing a home- finding society, and by extending friendly supervision to all agencies licensed for child-placing. Children are placed in family homes for a period of probation averaging from three months to two years, and are then subject to legal adoption or by agreement to taking their places as members of the family. The only exception are the new-born babes who are legally adopted without a probationary period. Home-finding is carried on by (1) the state, (2) Ten- nessee Children's Home Society, (3) public institutions and (4) private institutions. In addition to licensed, author- ized placing, individuals are assuming responsibility for home-finding, and with it all, children are being legally and illegally placed in families. Records show that more than 1,200 have been so placed during the year. The State The State Board of Administration established a child- placing department in April, 1920. One agent, working from the office of the Board of State Charities, is confimng her attention to state institutions and to the Tennessee In- dustrial School in particular. Applications from families 602 Child Welfare in Tennessee wishing to take children conform to minimum standards established by the State Board. These standards are, "To maintain and treat the child kindly and properly as a member of the family, to cause him to attend church and Sunday school regularly, to pro- vide for his education, causing him to attend school as pro- vided by law, to provide with necessities in health and sick- ness and in no case to surrender his custody to a third party without the written consent of the Board of Administra- tion." Further, familes making application for a child, "are expected to be kind-hearted, Sunday-observing and church-going people in such financial circumstances as to give the child good advantages and at least a common school education. Clothing and transportation charges from the institution to the home must be furnished by the family. The child sent on trial may be returned at the expense of the family on due notice to the institution. Unless legally adopted, the child must not be removed from the given post- office address without the written consent of the Board of Administration and foster-parents are required to make monthly reports to the child-placing department. It is de- sired that all children shall be legally adopted but court papers cannot be taken out until the written consent of the State Board of Administration is given. Unless the child is legally adopted, it shall remain under the control of the State Board of Administration." All applications are referred for personal investigation to the agent, who represents the Board of Administration in approving or rejecting the home. If approved, she again represents the Board in choosing the child best fitted to the home and requires of the foster-parent a written agreement to comply with conditions set forth by the Board of Admin- istration. Two conditions greatly limit the effectiveness of the de- partment. The field is too large for one agent to do justice to any part of the work. She depends on the already busy office of the Board of State Charities for clerical and steno- graphic help. Having no means of rapid transportation provided for her use, she depends on the busy car of the Home Finding 603 State Board of Administration, the street car, trains and jitneys for transportation. Institutional records are so in- complete as to furnish little or no reliable information re- garding the child's habits, temperament, health or mental condition, and consequently, she frequently places a child, unfit for family life who is returned as not making good, an experience unjust to the child and unfair to the family. Before the work of the department can be satisfactorily ad- ministered, a complete record of each child must be avail- able; the foster-parents must be told frankly about his weaknesses and their co-operation secured to correct these rather than condemn. Otherwise the better class of homes will soon be closed against her, and against all children from institutions represented by the child-placing deaprtment. An instance came under observation of the writer. A boy placed in a farm home persisted in running away. After repeated efforts he succeeded and two months later had not been located. It was then learned for the first time that he had a long record in his home county. His order of commitment specified he was incorrigible. A competent psychologist had pronounced him feeble-minded. He had not only been in the habit of running away but had stolen and had been known as a sex offender. Officially, Tennessee also endorses modern methods of child-placing by granting a state appropriation to the Ten- nessee Children's Home Society, a private home-finding or- ganization caring for children throughout the state, dis- cussed later in this chapter. An effective state program is being developed through powers vested in the Board of State Charities to investigate all applications for licenses and home-finding; officially to approve before the Secre- tary of State is empowered to issue license; to inspect, su- pervise and require reports from all private agencies li- censed for child-placing and home-finding. It is the policy of the Board to mail quarterly blank forms for reports to all institutions licensed for home-finding and to keep the returns on file in the office of the secretary. Repori;s in- clude detailed information concerning each child admitted during the quarter, his name, age, sex, color, physical and 604 Child Welfare in Tennessee mental condition, social status and history of his parents, and a statement as to whether he is to be placed in a family home ; records of re-admission, name, address of last guar- ments and transfers with statement of conditions on which child was placed ; record of adoptions and placing out during the quarter ; of deaths in the institution, with statement of total population, male and female, and number of placeable children. The majority of institutions make complete and accurate reports, reflecting creditably on their systems of registration and record-keeping. The failure of others is due to their lack of complete and accurate records and in a few instances to lack of appreciation of the assistance of- fered through the Board of State Charities. Tennessee Children's Hom e Society The Tennessee Children's Home Society rightfully leads in the work of home-finding. Methods and policies are de- veloped along lines of best modern standards and compare favorably with any of the younger state societies except in restricting the age limit to seven years, and failing to de- velop the home-boarding plan. While its purpose is two- fold, namely, finding free family homes for homeless chil- dren under 7, and aiding mothers to care for their own chil- dren, the details of organization and finance have required so much attention that the work of the society has so far been restricted largely to that of home-finding. The re- ceiving honie has a capacity of 25 babies and 20 children. More than seven hundred have been placed in permanent family homes, while 332 placed-out wards are now under supervision. The society features keeping children from the same family together and during the year has placed 20 sets of brothers and sisters in the same homes. Chil- dren of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faiths are received and are placed in family homes of like faith. Home Finding 605 Annual report May 1, 1920, shows : Children In Receiving Home May 1, 1919 „ Children received as State wards . . T71 S™'^'"?-,^^ ''''"^''* ^""^ ^'''■^''^ y^^'"^ returned 'to Receiving' Home' 44 New children placed in homes ... vmg xiome. 44 Returned children replaced f „ Removed by death 23 Children in Receiving Home at end of year 97 Children in other institutions \ Children aided, not State wards ' 30 Total number cared for during year 261 Average daily population gs Children given special surgical and medical attention 85 Adoption papers sent out ' 59 Visits to prospective homes g? Visits to wards in homes 222 Visits to other institutions 33 Visits to towns over the State 153 Children are received through court commitments and through legal release by living parents. Records show ap- proximately 50 per cent committed by the courts. It is the policy of the society personally to investigate each applica- tion before accepting the child. Two field representatives are employed and two members of the Board of Directors are willing and capable of making satisfactory investiga- tions, each in his own community. Children are received from any county in the state. Since 1915, the state has appropriated an admission fee of $75 for each destitute child received by the society. Each county is granted a quota on the basis of one child for each 5,000 of its population. After a county has reached the limit of admissions as state wards, additional children may be sent and the fee paid from other funds. Approximately 35 per cent of the annual budget is raised through private contributions. Application for a child is made in writing and is signed by both foster-parents of the prospective home. They agree to give the child good advantages, to send him to school, and to provide for him in all ways as if he were their o-"ti child. The application form states briefly the requirements of the society, embodying its policy to place a child in a high-grade home, capable of developing his best interests. A repre- sentative of the society personally visits the prospective home and in addition to a thorough investigation, talks 606 Child Welfare in Tennessee over with the prospective foster-parents their plans for the child's care and his future. It is the policy of the society to visit the child in his new home at least once every three months and records show visits from three to six months until child is legally adopted. Frequently, reports are re- ceived and visits made after adoption. The administrative office, at present located in the Home, maintains a modern vertical filing system, case rec- ords are filed numerically with cross references, and index kept in fireproof safe. Case records include the name, date of birth, sex, physical condition, mental condition, date ad- mitted, by whom surrendered, causes of surrender, history of father — name, address, occupation and character — ^his- tory of mother, nearest relative, name and address of family with whom child is placed, date of placement and of return to receiving home. To the face card are attached in chron- ological order, history sheets, letters received, copies of let- ters written, applications, properly filed references, and re- ports, including a history from the date of admittance, of the child's weight, height and feeding. Complete records are kept of all applications and reports of field agents upon which they are approved or rejected. Standard forms are issued including reports of visits subsequent to placement, noting in detail condition of child's health, clothing, man- ners, obedience, helpfulness; kind of work done; where he sleeps ; his habits ; attendance on church ; school record, in- cluding scholarship, attendance, promotion and name of teacher; condition of home as to cleanliness, order, com- fort; relation between child and foster-parents, and his happiness. The society quarterly mails a blank form to each foster-parent requiring report in full on matters as re- ported on by the field agents. As Tennessee develops a new program for child welfare including home-finding, we recommend that the Tennessee Children's Home Society do without the state subsidy and confine its program to developing a strong private agency supported entirely by private funds. The history of home- finding in other states favors the development of private support for the private agency. The whole field is too ex- Home Finding 607 tensive for one private agency or one public agency to handle it alone, and co-operation rather than amalgamation makes for a stronger program. It leaves the private agency free to accept only placeable children, developing the board- ing-home plan and extending work of aiding families to keep their own children together, while the public agency assumes responsibility for children needing a longer period of care preparatory to placement in family homes and for non- placeable children. The Tennessee Children's Home Society approves of the boarding-home plan and will develop work along these lines as rapidly as finance and staff make it pos- sible. Meanwhile, no boarding homes are used except as temporary receiving homes when the Home at Nashville is under quarantine. Additional field staff and advance of age limit as rapidly as possible mark lines for immediate development.* Institutional Placing Public institutions vested with powers of child-placing may be classified as follows: (1) state schools under the State Board of Administration and (2) county industrial schools under county boards of trustees. Children commit- ted to the state schools including Tennessee Training and Agricultural, Tennessee Industrial, and Tennessee Voca- tional for Girls, become wards of the State Board of Admin- istration by virtue of court commitment. The Board is vested with the power of discharge, of parole and of placing in family homes. Children committed on charges of crime, delinquency, or dependency, when not legally surrendered for adoption, are frequently paroled or placed with families on agreement. Neither the State Board of Administration nor any of the three institutions employs a parole officer. Consequently parole amounts to little more than turning children out without supervision or protection on the part * The Tennessee Child Welfare Commission declares that provision should be made for the placement of children up to the age of 16, and that at the earliest day possible the Children's Home Society should lift its age limit from 7 to 10 years of age. 608 Child Welfare in Tennessee of the institution. It puts the responsibility for paroled children on the families whose homes they enter when they leave the institution. If the family treat them as their own, parole amounts to a form of home-finding. If,- however, the adjustment is not satisfactory, it amounts to turning chil- dren back into society without direction or friendly super- vision. Qua;lifications for parole are based in each instance on behavior, conduct, degree of reformation, and real desire on the part of the child to go into a family home. Applica- tion for paroled wards must be accompanied by at least three references and a written agreement to provide food, shelter, and clothing and to require school and church at- tendance. Investigation of application is confined in most instances to letters from references with no personal visit to the home. After chil(fren are paroled, reports are re- quested but not required and no provision is made for fol- low-up visits or supervision. State institutions are requir- ed to report monthly to the State Board of Administration the names of all children discharged, paroled, or placed on agreement. Records show appproximately 730 wards now living in family homes. The Tennessee Industrial School admits large numbers of children with abandonment or neglect as the cause of commitment. Records do not contain information as to how many are subject to adoption. Failure of courts to make careful investigation at the time of commitment and fail- ure to keep accurate records leave the Board of Administra- tion without sufficient knowledge on which to act. The law specifically authorizes the Board to find homes for aban- doned or neglected children, in fact their commitment as such vests in the Board authority to place them in suitable family homes under supervision during minority, yet fre- quently, after placing a child in a suitable home, the Board is embarrassed by habeas corpus proceedings requiring that the child be returned to family conditions wholly unsuited to his best interests. This difficulty can be removed only through careful investigation at the time of commitment Home Finding 609 and requiring legal surrender of all children subject to adoption or to permanent placement in family homes. Ac- curate records of all children during their institutional life, including a history of health, mental age, personal habits and temperament, are also needed. Children committed to county industrial schools become wards of the board of trustees, who are vested with power of parole and placement in permanent homes. All children are subject to removal to family homes but only dependent children subject to legal adoption are considered as perma- nently placeable. Knox County is working out a definite program including personal visits to prospective homes, thorough investigations, record of findings, personal super- vision and follow-up visitation beginning six months after placement. Hamilton County, recognizing its limitations as to investigating and supervising, is placing a limited number, and Shelby County is not exercising its power, because of inability properly to investigate and supervise and because of the frequent ■ interference of habeas corpus proceedings. Private institutions are vested with legal authority to do child-placing and home-finding only on the approval of the Board of State Charities. Unfortunately, many orphanages are accepting large numbers of children who are not legally subject to placement in family homes. We say unfortu- nately, because such children are required to spend in the institution a long period of years, including those most val- uable to their development and so are deprived of natural family and community life. Many children, legally free, can never be prepared for family life — defective children not far enough below normal for care in a school for feeble- minded; crippled and deformed children; those neglected so long that they have become warped ; and those with in- herited taints — many such require long years of institu- tional training before they can hope to be able to take their place in family homes. But the majority in private insti- tutions are capable of placement much sooner than present plans permit. Long years in an orphanage can be avoided in three ways : first, by more adequate provision for family 610 Child Welfare in Tennessee case- work in every county, .keeping children in their own homes as far as possible ; second, by more careful and scien- tific investigation prior to admittance; and third, by insti- tutions employing as member of their staff a trained person giving as much time as is necessary to finding homes, se- lecting children and supervising after placement. A 16-year-old girl attending college, spending the sum- mer at the orphanage which had been her only home for thirteen years, chatted freely with the writer about her- self, the orphanage and her college experiences. Everyone is kind to her and she is most appreciative, but with a breaking in her voice, she said that although the orphanage had been a good home she realized for the first time in her life when the girls at college received letters, boxes and visits from home, what she had missed by not having a mother and a home. Every child has the right to the indi- vidual mothering love of a good woman, and helpless little children should not be deprived of individual care for a longer period than is absolutely necessary. Three maternity homes refer all babies subject to adop- tion to the Tennessee Children's Home Society. The super- intendent of one orphanage, Industrial Home and School, handles all matters pertaining to home-finding, depending on pastors of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and representatives of the Woman's Home Missionary Society, Holston Conference, to make investigations, approve homes, and supervise children after placement. All other private institutions doing home-finding in Tennessee operate through committees on home-finding, sometimes called com- mittees on adoption. Without exception, no member of the committees has had previous training or experience in so- cial investigations or child-placing. With three or four ex- ceptiorts, no committee member personally visits prospec- tive homes, talking over with the prospective foster-parents their ideals and plans for the child. Application is usually required to conform to forms furnished by the Board of State Charities and, unfortunately, inquiry seldom extends outside the references given. Supervision after placement is universally inadequate. A few committees are finding Home Finding 611 excellent homes and many fine-souled women are giving generously of their time and strength for the sake of the children under their care. However, the system is weak and open to irretrievable mistakes. One weakness lies in lack of consecutive program; one committee may do excel- lent work, keeping fairly complete records for two or three years, but with the retirement of the chairman or the pro- pelling force in the committee, a new policy is adopted in harmony with the personal ideals of the new leader, and children formerly placed are lost sight of. . A chairman most faithfully serving one of the largest orphanages in the state, keeping all records in her own home, has personally placed 22 children during the two years she has been in office. She expressed regret that she is not able to give home-finding first place in her personal program, but said, of course, her home, her family and her church come first. Prior to her administration, no records were kept by the committee on home-finding and conse- quently no reliable information is available as to the num- ber and names of children for whom the institution is still responsible. Another chairman giving hours to home-finding, keeping accurate records in the office at the orphanage, illustrating the selfishness of foster-parents, showed the writer a letter in which the foster-mother complained because the girl in her home was not subject to adoption. She declared she was not willing to train the child for a number of years only to have her taken away when she was old enough to be of service. She declared that the child was sullen, moody, would not speak or eat for several days at a time, was sick and not able to do her school work. The committee inter- preted the letter as indicating the selfishness of the foster- mother and admitted no one had visited the home nor made an eflfort to talk with the girl, who had been with the family three months with no opportunity to get away honorably. We have no feeling that committees on home-finding are wilfully neglecting the best interests of children under their care; but through ignorance of modern standards, lack of training or personal adaptability for the difficult and im- 612 Child Welfare in Tennessee portant task, lack of vision and, we regret to say, in a few instances, desire for selfish gratification, home-finding is the most neglected phase of institutional care for children in the state. Individual and Illegal Placing Tennessee has established laws governing home-finding solely for the sake of protecting little children and guarding their best interests as potential citiezns. "Public Acts, 1917, chapter 120, section 6, Sub-Sec. 1. Child-caring agencies, societies, or institutions, in placing out wards or other dependent or delinquent children in pri- vate families, shall safeguard their welfare by the thorough investigation of each applicant and his home and its en- vironment; shall carefully select the child to suit the new relationship and location ; and shall personally and adequate- ly supervise each home and child until the latter receives legal adoption or attains legal age. "Sub-Sec. 4. Private individuals, including mid-wives, physicians, nurses, and hospital officials, and the officers of all authorized institutions, are forbidden to engage in placing-out work ; and violations of this restriction shall be punishable by a fine of not less than ten ($10.00) dollars, nor exceeding one hundred ($100.00) dollars for each of- fense." Every year children are being placed in family homes by some of the best people in the state ; there is no way of knowing how many nor who all the people are. In Nash- ville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Maryville, Green- ville and Johnson City, we found men and women enjoying a reputation of finding homes for many children brought to their attention. They usually confine their efforts to their own locality, but this is not always true. Doubtless some good has been accomplished but without question harm has been done in many instances and the practice should not be continued. Under the present age limit imposed by the Tennessee Children's Home Society and without any state- wide scheme for home-finding, courts also are doing a great deal of placing without adequate investigations and without any follow-up supervision. Home Finding 613 Under date of July 2, 1920, a social worker wrote, "We find upon investigation that the physician in Knoxville turned the child over to the J. K.'s with absolutely no pre- vious knowledge of their character and no investigation whatever. This is, I believe, a misdemeanor under the law, is it not? . . . Altogether it is a bad situation and we intend to take the baby though we are anixous if possible to settle the matter out of court." After careful investigation of the complaint made regarding the neglect of the baby, the social worker found that the J. K.'s bore a criminal record and that their own children had been taken away through court action within the past year. The physician referred to does not deny that he makes a practice of find- ing homes for unwanted babies, and does not pretend to make personal investigation of the foster-home or to re- quire references. The chairman of a committee on admission for an or- phanage not receiving children under two years is person- ally responsible for a large number of placements every year. Homes are not found in the name of the institution, which is licensed for home-finding. No records are kept except private memoranda and those of the court at time of legal adoption. Recently he placed an unusually fine baby in the home of a woman of good reputation but ignorant, unable to read or write; the child might have been placed in one of the best homes in the state had his benefactor been far-sighted enough to realize it and been willing to forego the gratification of his own ideas. Institutions doing home-finding without state license are guilty of violation of law and are subject to fine. The seven institutions placing children at the time of this study and doing all grades of work, belong to two groups : those which do not include home-finding in their program and place from two to four children each year as good homes are offered; those which knowingly or unknowingly violate the law, sur- rendering children under their care, often technically evad- ing the law by permitting parents to transfer children to homes recommended by the institution. 614 Child Welfare in Tennessee The Florence Crittenden Home, Nashville, in many re- spects doing the highest grade of maternity care in the state, just before being licensed for home-finding, inserted last July this appeal for a home in the morning paper: "three-day-old baby seeks NASHVILLE HOME. "Out in a certain large home in Nashville abides a tiny boy three days old. This little fellow wants a home. He wants to be adopted into a home where he can get the care of Christian parents, the loving ministrations that make a baby's life happy and worth while. The extreme infancy of the baby will appeal to many Nashville people, because thereby he will become a part of the family from his very first days and can be trained up according to the notions of his foster-parents. The baby hasn't even a name. The new parents he is seeking will be the first to give him one. The tiny mite is appealing through The Tennessean to Nash- ville people. He is asking the care of parents and the oppor- tunity to brighten a home and grow up into a useful citizen. Full information can be secured at *Fenwick 3912.' A feature of the new child welfare program should in- clude an educational campaign as to the law itself, and rea- sons for it, that the best interest of each child in the state may be assured. SUMMARY Home-finding is carried on by the State, the Tennessee Children's Home Society, by public institutions and by pri- vate institutions. In addition to authorized placement, in- dividuals are finding homes in violation of state law. Boards show over 1,200 children placed in family homes during the past year. The state maintains a child-placing department in the State Board of Administration, subsidizes The Tennessee Children's Home Society, and provides friendly inspection * Exchange and number fictitious. Home Finding 615 and supervision over all institutions caring for children through the Board of State Charities. The Tennessee Children's Home Society operates throughout the state as far as its field staff of two permits. Only children under 7 are accepted. The Receiving Home has a capacity for 25 babies and 20 children. Annual place- ments average about two hundred. Placed-out wards now under supervision number 332. No boarding homes are used except in case the Receiving Home is under quarantine. Public institutions vested with power of placing-out and parole are handicapped through lack of parole officers. Seven hundred thirty children placed and paroled during the past year, are dependent for supervision on the families who received them; with no follow-up visitation this amounts to little more than discharge. Three maternity homes do all their child-placing through the Tennessee Chil- dren's Home Society, no institution ernploys a home-finding agent except Tennessee Children's Home Society and State Boafd of Administration. All others conduct home-finding work through committees on adoption or home-finding. Without exception, no committee member is trained in so^ cial investigations and none in the technical and difficult art of home-finding. Individuals placing children in homes not approved by Board of State Charities are violating state law and subject to fine. RECOM MENDATIONS INSTITUTIONS — PUBLIC AND PRIVATE Supervision No child should be placed in a family by any person or agency not licensed for home-finding without the approval of the Board through its Child Welfare Department and any violation should be punished, powers of prosecution to be vested in the Board of State Charities. A representative of the Board through its Child Welfare Department should visit all children placed in family homes by any agency, public or private, first visit within three 616 Child Welfare in Tennessee months after placement with semi-yearly visits thereafter as long as the child remains a ward of the agency. Reports of such visits should be made both to the Child Welfare De- partment and the agency responsible for the child. STATE INSTITUTIONS Administration The Board of State Charities through its Child Welfare Department should be notified by the Board of Administra- . tion of all wards eligible for parole, for placing out on agree- ment, or for adoption, the Board of State Charities thereby becoming responsible for the study of each child, the selec- tion of the family home, the placement and follow-up super- vision as long as the child shall remain a ward of the insti- tution. COUNTY INSTITUTIONS Boards of trustees of all county institutions should co- operate with the Board of State Charities through its pro- posed Child Welfare Department, directing parole, placing out on agreement, and home-finding under the supervision of this department. HV 742.T25 fiiS,S<^reinTennessee.>