Our Schools in War Time—and AfterDean, Arthur D. (Arthur Davis)
History
Our Schools in War Time—and After
Dean, Arthur D. (Arthur Davis)
Education -- United States; World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- Schools
Rexford's application blank asked for the weight, age, previous
experience in farming, church preference, and habits as to smoking.
The teacher had the coöperation of the farm bureau. The farmers wrote
to the bureau for help; Mr. Rexford and the farm-bureau manager went
to each farmer, looked over the situation, and if everything was
satisfactory, furnished the workers. Mr. Rexford will not leave boys
on any farm without proper supervision. He visits the boys once every
week, neither the farmer nor the boy knowing when he is coming.
At first no wage scale was set, the arrangement being that the farmer
should pay what the boy was worth. If he was worth nothing, then it
was all right, and the boy ought to be the first one to know it.
However, most of the boys started at 20 cents an hour; soon this was
raised to 25 cents, and now the pay is 30 cents.
Most of the farmers in the vicinity had never done any spraying. They
now apply to Mr. Rexford when they want such work done and he sends out
two boys and horses and his own spraying outfit. The work is done at a
cost to the farmer of about 70 cents per acre for spraying potatoes,
in addition to the material; that is, 25 cents per acre for each boy's
work and 20 cents expense on the spraying outfit, for nozzles etc.
There was no illness among the boys during the summer, not even colds.
Sometimes the boys got wet through, but came home, took a dip in a hole
in the creek, and followed it by a good rub.
Meanwhile quite a number of New York City men teachers under the
leadership of two camp supervisors, H. W. Millspaugh and H. J.
McCreary, and acting under the authority of the Board of Education,
started out "to sell something they did not have to somebody who did
not want it." But these men had the courage of their convictions and
the results of their work (over twenty camps in two counties) give
ample evidence of the success of their venture.
Imagine the surprise of the fruit growers of the counties named when
they received the following circular letter:
It is proposed to bring a large number of boys from the high
schools of New York City to pick fruit in the fruit belt of Orange
and Ulster counties. In carrying out this plan it will be necessary
to have the full coöperation of fruit growers, school authorities,
parents, health authorities, and others. The part of the fruit
grower will be roughly as follows:
He will provide housing facilities, stove, fuel, refrigeration,
either by ice box, cellar, or spring, convenient water supply,
toilet facilities satisfactory to the board of health, straw for
mattresses, cooking utensils, working conditions that will enable
the average boy to earn a respectable wage, and a sympathetic
attitude toward the comfort and health of the boys.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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