Our Schools in War Time—and After

by Arthur D. Dean

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.

Each boy will provide his carfare to and from the fruit section, provide his own knife, fork, cup, plate, spoon, wash basin, tick for mattress, pillow, blankets, etc., and pay for his food and cooking. Boys will mess in groups of 12 to 25 or even more. Each group will have a capable boy cook and in camps of over 20, two boys. The first boy will receive $4 a week besides his meals, the second boy $2.50 a week and may earn some more by picking fruit. A teacher supervisor will supervise one large or two or three small camps and advise as to preparation of food, buy supplies, and act as camp director.

Regarding cooking outfit to be supplied by the fruit grower, it may be said that all except stove and ice box can be purchased new for about $10. It is desirable that these be ordered by the camp director, who will judge the size and kind and take advantage of wholesale rates. An oil stove and oven is recommended unless a suitable stove is on hand. Inexperienced boy cooks cannot be expected to satisfy a score or more of hungry boys with equipment discarded by the skilled housewife.

It is further understood that these boys will not work on Sunday nor will they be located on farms where farm help is not treated with consideration.

An illustration of a "concentration and training camp" is that established by the state of Maine. This state, in coöperation with the state Young Men's Christian Association, developed a state camp for the purpose of enlisting and training boys and young men to supply the extra demand for farm labor made necessary through the increased-acreage propaganda. The boys were organized under the title of "The Junior Volunteers of Maine." They were virtually farm soldiers of the state, and were sworn to obey all rules of the camp before and after leaving it for the farms on which they were placed.

The boys are sent out in squads to work in different sections of the state, as opportunity may offer, under the direction of competent adult leaders. These leaders have full charge of the boys until they return to the mobilization camp.

When a boy comes to the camp he is examined for his moral and physical qualifications, and then is assigned to a company and to a tent. The adjutant general provides necessary tents, uniforms, and camp utensils. The boy is instructed with others in the squad how to pitch a tent and pack camp utensils, and he is also given lessons in sanitation and the elements of military drill. He has a lecture every day given by a professor of the state agricultural college. He also works on the Y.M.C.A. farm, which is being used for this purpose, and is taught the use of machinery, and how to manage and care for horses, sharpen tools, and milk cows.

It is not claimed that a week of this sort of training makes the boy a finished farmer, but it does go a long way in that preliminary education so essential to farm-mindedness. By the time the boy gets to the farmer he is in excellent shape to understand the orders of his employer. In the words of the director of the camp, "He is ready to begin actual service as a trained novice."

Before the boy is admitted to the camp a searching examination is made into his character and antecedents, and some responsible person must answer certain confidential questions relative to the boy's physical, mental, and social habits.

After the boy is admitted to the camp he takes an oath in which he states that he will serve as a junior volunteer for farm service in Maine until the last day of October, unless sooner released by the governor of the state of Maine.

A charge is made on the farmer of $1 a day for each of the six working days, and it is expected that if the boys show themselves worthy of more, the farmer will recognize this and make a satisfactory adjustment with the leader. In addition to the minimum charge of $1 a day the farmer is required to furnish board. As a rule, however, the boys sleep in near-by tents with their leaders. The farmer is not required to pay transportation or other charges.