Attendance is better in the city as a whole than in the four schools in the district. But 63.5 per cent of the children in the schools in the district were absent less than eleven days, as compared with 67.3 per cent of those in the city as a whole. The proportion of children in each of the successive groups representing longer periods of absence is smaller for the city as a whole than for the four schools. A comparison of the column for boys with that for girls shows that the low attendance in the schools studied is due to the relatively low attendance among the girls. While the percentages relating to the boys correspond almost exactly to those relating to all the children of the city, the percentages for the girls indicate a materially lower proportion of attendance.
| Days of absence | PUPILS IN SCHOOLS NOS. 17, 32, 51 AND 127[a] | PUPILS IN ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS[b] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Girls | Total | Number | Per cent | ||||
| Number | Per cent | Number | Per cent | Number | Per cent | |||
| Less than 11 | 1,829 | 67.4 | 1,173 | 58.3 | 3,002 | 63.5 | 382,406 | 67.3 |
| 11 and less than 21 | 447 | 16.4 | 408 | 20.3 | 855 | 18.1 | 97,512 | 17.1 |
| 21 and less than 31 | 182 | 6.7 | 182 | 9.0 | 364 | 7.7 | 39,391 | 6.9 |
| 31 and less than 41 | 92 | 3.4 | 99 | 4.9 | 191 | 4.0 | 19,297 | 3.4 |
| 41 and over | 166 | 6.1 | 151 | 7.5 | 317 | 6.7 | 30,006 | 5.3 |
| Total | 2,716 | 100.0 | 2,013 | 100.0 | 4,729 | 100.0 | 568,612 | 100.0 |
| Average number of days absence | 11.4 | 14.0 | 12.5 | |||||
[a] Tabulated from schedules obtained for the Committee on School Inquiry of the Board of Estimate and
Apportionment of New York City.
[b] From a report to the Committee on School Inquiry of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of New York City, on Promotions and Non-promotions, and Part Time, by Frank P. Bachman, Ph.D., p. 64.
INDEX
INDEX
- Abbott, Edith: The Delinquent Child and the Home, cited, [130]
- Adenoids: found on examination of girls, [83]
- Adolescence: and poverty, [32];
- and self-assertion, [48]
- Agnes: the friend of Annie Brink, [31]
- Alcoholism: in families of girls, [129]. See also Drinking
- Amelia: the case of, [52]
- American Female Guardian Society School on West Side, [33]
- Americanization among Italians: signs of, [110], [117]
- Angelina and Nick, [96], [97], [113-115]
- Anthony, Katharine: Mothers Who Must Earn, cited, [23]
- Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor: families of girls having records with, [121]
- Attinger, Mrs.: on her Lizzie's marriage, [73], [74]
- Ayres, Leonard P.: Laggards in Our Schools, cited, [37]
- "Baby's" Housekeeping, [35], [36]
- Bachman, Frank P.: Report on Promotions and Non-Promotions, etc., cited, [133]
- Basket-weaving: as a club occupation, [4]
- Bedford Reformatory: superintendent of, quoted, [15];
- treatment of girls at, [18]
- Belsito, Adelina: and her absence from school, [102], [103]
- Birth Rate and Death Rate of West Side, [23]
- Blondi, Zappira: and her mother, [105], [106]
- Boys: and the girls' club, [4], [6], [7], [8], [9];
- idleness among, more common than among girls, [51];
- school attendance of, compared with that of girls, [132-134]
- Brass Work: as a club occupation, [4]
- Breckinridge, S. P.: The Delinquent Child and the Home, cited, [130]
- Brink, Annie: story of, [30], [31]
- Bureau of Social Research: study of school attendance by, [132]
- Burial Expenses, [23], [129]
- Business Enterprises: conducted by Italian families, [106], [107]
- Carney, May: case of, [85], [86], [87]
- Carney, Mrs.: on May's marriage, [86]
- Cartwright, O. G.: Historical Survey of the West Side, cited, [76]
- Charitable Aid: received by families of girls, [122], [123], [124]. See also Relief Records
- Charitable Societies: Italians and the, [108]
- Charity among Italians, [107], [108]
- Charity Organization Society: families of girls having records with, [121]
- Childhood: influence of tenement life on, [81], [82]
- Children: school attendance of, [132-134]
- Children's Aid Society School on West Side, [33]
- Christ Presbyterian Church: supervisor from, in charge of playground at club, [3]
- Church: aid to family given by, [121]
- Cleary and Maggie: affair between, [79], [80]
- Cleaver and Doran, [9], [10]
- Clinic, Psychological: examination of girls in a, [85]
- Clinic, Weekly: at club, [84]
- Cliques among Girls, [60], [61]
- Clothes, Pretty: the girls' longing for, [59], [60]
- Clothing, Protective: the girls' lack of, [60]
- Club House at 471 Tenth Avenue: aim and origin of, [1], [2];
- equipment and activities of, [3], [4];
- only outbreak against a leader at, [10], [11];
- razed to give place to a factory, [14];
- relations with fellow tenants at, [5], [6];
- relations with neighborhood boys at, [6], [7], [8], [9];
- total number of girls studied at, [14];
- West Side girls, how far represented at, [15], [16]
- Clubs and Settlements: use of, by West Side girls, [67]
- Colletti Family: and their home, [98]
- Colletti, Lucy: references to, [95], [96], [97], [98], [99], [109], [111], [114]
- Colletti, Mary: references to, [95], [96], [98], [99]
- Conjunctivitis: case of, discovered in physical examination of girls, [83]
- Cooking: as a club occupation, [4]
- Cook Stove: essential to equipment of girls' club, [4]
- Costa, Angelina: and her interpretation of Lincoln's birthday, [112]
- Craven, Mamie: case of, [60]
- Cull, Christina: truancy of, [38], [39], [40]
- Daley's Marriage to May Carney, [86], [87]
- Dance Halls: and the occasional ball, [69];
- campaign for control of, [16], [17];
- etiquette of, [69], [70];
- grades of, [70]
- Dances, Public: conduct of, [71]
- Dancing: enthusiasm of girls for, [4], [67]
- Dark Rooms in Homes of Girls, [24], [127]
- Davis, Dr. Katherine B.: quoted, [15]
- Death Rates. See Mortality
- Defects, Physical: found in club girls, [83]
- Denley, Clara: and her faction, [12]
- Department Stores: preference of some girls for, [43]. See also Stores
- Derks, Emma: and her raffle, [32]
- Devine, Edward T.: Misery and Its Causes, cited, [124]
- Distel, Mr.: as a neighbor, [6]
- Donovan, Sissy: first job of, [41], [42]
- Doran's Tale of a Gang, [9]
- Drake, Carrie: case of, [88-90]
- Drink: girl does not take to, [32];
- mothers who take to, [27], [29]
- Drinking: excessive, on the part of parents of girls, [29], [129], [130]
- Drunkenness: habitual, distinguished from "excessive drinking," [129]
- Earnings of Girls, [47]
- East Side: West Side compared with, as to stability of population, [75]
- East Side: West Side compared with, as to stability of population, [75]
- Economic Condition: of the families of girls, [121-131]
- Education, Compulsory: period of, [33]
- Egan, Barbara, and Louisa Storm: quarrel between, [12]
- Eighth Avenue: as a promenade, [66]
- Eleventh Avenue: case of one family on, [24-26]
- Employment Certificate. See Working Papers
- Estimate and Apportionment Board's Committee of School Inquiry, [132], [133]
- Examination, Physical: of club girls, [82], [83], [84]
- Eyes of Girls: not cared for, [83]
- Factories: and the West Side girl, [43], [44];
- wages of the girl in, [47];
- work of Italian girls in, [110], [111]
- Families: large, on West Side, [22]
- Families of Girls: classified on basis of prosperity or poverty, [130], [131];
- economic conditions of, [121-131];
- housing of, [126], [127], [128];
- how constituted, [125];
- which received charitable aid, study of, [122], [123], [124]
- Family, Limitation of Size of: almost unknown on West Side, [23]
- Family Protection: general breakdown of, on West Side, [75-94];
- maintained in the case of the Italian girl, [108], [111], [112]
- Fathers: occupations of, [126]
- Festivals, Italian, [112]
- Fleming, Sadie, and Maggie Tracy, [12], [13]
- Fuller, Carrie: case of, [84], [85]
- Funeral Expenses: in families of girls, [129]
- Galaxy Moving Picture Show, [67]
- Gang Spirit of Tenth Avenue, [13]
- Gangs. See Boys; Gopher Gang; "Hell's Kitchen" Gang
- Gas Plants: odors of, on West Side, [75]
- Gate: as a bone of contention, [3], [4]
- "Gentleman Friends" and "Lady Friends," [61]
- Gibson, Annie: truancy of, [37], [38]
- Girls, West Side: aim and methods of study, [1];
- attitude of, toward assumption of family burdens, [49], [50], [51];
- demand for "good times" by, [51];
- difficulty of knowing, in their own homes, [2];
- education, in neighborhood immorality, [75-81], [87-93];
- familiarity with poverty and its effect, [21], [29], [32];
- fondness for dancing and music, [4], [67], [68], [69];
- homes and street corners as places of meeting with boy friends, [61-63];
- how far represented in clubs, [15], [16];
- idealism of, [68];
- immoderate pace of living among, [83];
- marriage, how regarded by, [73], [74];
- occupations of, [43], [44], [45], [46];
- physical inheritance and health of, [82], [83], [84], [85];
- relations with their families compared with those of boys, [19];
- relations with their mothers often strained, [53], [54], [55];
- school attendance of, compared with that of boys, [132-134];
- schooling of, [33-42];
- social relations among, contrasted with those among boys, [60], [61];
- surest way to help, [94];
- wages earned by, amount and disposition of, [47], [48]. See also Italian Girl
- Gopher Gang: gossip about, [6], [9], [10], [13], [76]
- "Gopherettes": proposed as name of club, [10]
- Hannick and Maggie, [62]
- Health, Board of: family under care of, [121]
- Health of Club Girls, [82], [83], [84], [85]
- "Hell's Kitchen" Gang: and its influence, [76]
- Hickman's Moving Picture Show, [67]
- Holidays, American: among the Italians, [112]
- Home: men friends of girls not welcomed in the, [61], [62];
- need of strengthening of best elements in the, [94];
- wage-earning and new relations at, [43-56]
- Home Work: Italian girls not engaged in, [110]
- Home-work Investigator: quoted, on Italian girls, [111]
- Housing of Families of Girls, [24], [126], [127], [128]
- Hyland, Winnie, and Carrie Drake, [88]
- Idealism among Girls, [67]
- Illegitimate Births: common on West Side, [79]
- Immorality among Girls, [79], [80], [85-93]
- Industrial Histories of Girls, [45], [46], [47]
- Insurance, Life: in families of girls, [23], [128], [129]
- Italian Girl: claims of school upon, [102], [103];
- eagerness of, to go to work, [109];
- family's protection of, [108];
- kinds of work done by, [110], [111];
- pleasures prohibited and permitted to, [111], [112];
- semi-Americanization of, [116], [117];
- separate study made of, [1], [95]
- Italians of West Side: Americanization of names among, [110];
- characteristics of family life among, [106], [107], [108], [111], [112];
- eagerness of parents for arrival of fourteenth birthday of daughter, [109];
- festivals among, [112];
- length of residence in United States, [109];
- mutual helpfulness and charity among, [107], [108];
- occupations of, [106], [107], [110];
- sympathy the keynote of the community, [101];
- wedding parties among, [113-116]
- Jennie. See Polini, Jennie
- Josie: and the dance halls, [72]
- Kersey, Mrs., and "Baby," [35]
- Kneeland, George J.: Commercialized Prostitution in New York City, quoted, [71]
- Kohlberger's Candy Factory, [95]
- "Lady Friend": significance of title, [61]
- "Laggards" among Girls, [37]
- Langan, Father: aid of, enlisted by Mrs. Mullarkey, [91];
- and the "Gophers," [12], [13]
- Larkey, Emma: schooling of, [36]
- Lawlessness of West Side, [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [13], [75], [76]
- Lincoln's Birthday: as interpreted by Angelina Costa, [112]
- London Slums: compared with Middle West Side District, [82]
- Louisa: the case of, [54], [55]
- McClusky Family: as co-tenants of the club, [4], [5], [6]
- McKeevers: Thanksgiving party at home of, [64-66]
- Maggie: the case of, [62]
- Martha and Sarah: trachoma cases, [83], [84]
- Mattie and Cleary: affair between, [79], [80]
- Marriage: as an adventure, [73];
- following irregular relationship, how regarded, [79];
- found to be a sobering event, [74];
- of May Carney, [85-87]. See also Weddings
- Marro, Angelina: her wedding party, [113-116]. See also Angelina and Nick
- Mayhew, Fanny: and the "Gopherettes," [10]
- Meehan, Jennie: marriage of, [80]
- Meehan, Mrs.: on the size of her family, [22]
- Mental Ability: of girls tested in a psychological clinic, [85]
- Mercer, Addie: and her father, [80], [81]
- Middle West Side. See West Side
- Misery and its Causes: in families of girls, [124]
- Money: importance of control of, to working girls, [59]
- Moral Conditions on Middle West Side, [77-81]
- Moresco, Filamina: an Italian rebel, [112]
- Morelli, Rose: and her family, [99], [100], [101], [111]
- Mortality among Children on Middle West Side, [23]
- Mother: and daughter, strained relations between, [53];
- as the mainstay of the family, [26]
- Mothers of Girls: wage-earning, [125];
- who take to drink, [27], [29]
- Moving Picture Shows, [66], [67]
- Mullarkey, Mrs.: and her search for Fannie, [90-92]
- Mullens, Fanny: and her reason for leaving the Excelsior Laundry, [46]
- Murphy, Mrs.: and her daughter Katie, [2]
- Music: appeal of, to girl, [67]. See also Songs, Popular
- Names: changes in, among Italians of West Side, [110]
- New Machiavelli, The: quotation from, [66]
- Nick and Angelina, [96], [97], [114]
- "Nickel Dump," [72]. See also Moving Picture Shows
- O'Brien, Julia: and the young woman from the ranks, [11]
- O'Brien, "Tootsie": and her first job, [44]
- O'Callahan, Mrs.: her tale of the Gophers, [13]
- Occupations: of girls studied, [44], [45];
- of fathers of girls, [126];
- of mothers of girls, [125];
- Of West Side Italians, [106], [107], [110]
- Parental Surveillance over Italian Girls, [111]. See also Italian Girl
- Parents: hostility of, toward men friends of girls, [62];
- excessive drinking on the part of, [29], [129], [130]
- Patsy: the case of, [92]
- Pay Envelope: family customs regarding, [47], [48], [49]
- Petie's Mother Dispossessed, [27], [28]
- Philanthropic Agency: families of girls having records with some, [121]. See also Relief Records; Charitable Aid
- Physical Inheritance: and condition of girls, [82], [83], [84], [85]
- Piano: essential to equipment of girls' club, [4]
- Play: the will to, [57-74]
- Playground in Back Yard of Club House, [3]
- Polini, Jennie: and her choice of a fellow, [96], [97], [99], [112]
- Population of Middle West Side: more stable than that of East Side, [75]
- Potter's Field: burial in, how regarded, [129]
- Poverty: in families of girls, [20-32], [130], [131]
- Precocious Development of Girls, [93]
- Prosperity: families of girls classified by degree of, [130], [131]
- Prostitution: case of, among girls known at club, [88]
- Psychological Clinic: examination of girls in, [85]
- Pupils. See Children
- Quarrels between Club Members, [12]
- Reformatory: as a cure for truancy, [38], [39]
- Reilly, Mamie: and her responsibilities, [50], [51]
- Reilly, Mrs.: on births and deaths, [23]
- Relief Records: of families of girls, [20], [121], [122], [123], [124]
- Rentals Paid by Families of Girls, [24], [128]
- Retardation among Girls Studied, [36], [37]
- Reynolds, Stephen: quoted, [15]
- Roche, Josephine: author of chapter on the Italian girl, [95]
- Ruletti, Mrs.: and her foster-child, [103], [104]
- Ryan, Mrs.: quoted, [77]
- Sabbio, Mrs.: and the family saloon, [106]
- Sadie and Petie's Mother Dispossessed, [27], [28]
- St. Vincent de Paul Society: families of girls having records with, [121]
- Saloon, Corner: and its influence, [81], [82]
- Sarah and Maggie: trachoma cases, [83], [84]
- School Attendance on the Middle West Side, [132-134]
- School Enquiry, Committee on: of Board of Estimate and Apportionment, [132], [133]
- Schooling, Compulsory: period of, [33]
- Schools: absence from, among Italians, [102], [103];
- choice of, open to West Side girl, [33];
- evasions of law by early leaving of, [40], [41], [42];
- retardation of girls in, [36], [37];
- truancy of girls in, [38], [39], [40];
- use of transfers in the, [34], [35], [36]
- Settlements and Clubs: use of, by girls, [67]
- Sewing: as a club occupation, [4]
- Sexual Abuse: among girls, [84], [85]
- Sheridan, Martie: and her machine, [45]
- Sherin, Nellie: and her work, [46]
- Sipp, May: desire for home visit expressed by, [3]
- Slaughter Pens: odors from, on West Side, [75]
- Social Relations: among girls contrasted with those among boys, [60], [61]
- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children: families of girls having records with, [121];
- interference of, where mother drinks, [130]
- Songs, Popular: fondness of girls for, [4]. See also Music
- Spinal Curvature: cases of, discovered on examination of girls, [83]
- Stark, Pauline: a "rover," [45]
- Stertle, Mamie: on going home at night, [77]
- Stevens, Kitty: on Jennie Meehan's marriage, [80]
- Stores: wages of girls starting in, [47]. See also Department Stores
- Storm, Louisa, and Barbara Egan: quarrel between, [12]
- Street Corners: as places of rendezvous, [62], [63]
- Strumpf, Anna, and Mamie Taggart: quarrel between, [12]
- Taggart, Mamie, and Anna Strumpf: quarrel between, [12]
- Teeth of Girls: neglect of, [83]
- Tenth Avenue: gang spirit of, [13]
- Thanksgiving Party at the McKeevers', [64-66]
- Throats of Girls: not cared for, [83]
- Toilet, Open: dangers of, [81]
- Tonsils, Enlarged: found on examination of girls, [83]
- Toohey, Sadie: on the restaurant keeper's past, [78]
- Trachoma: cases of, among the girls, [83], [84]
- Tracy, Maggie: faction headed by, called "tough," [12], [13]
- Trade-union Organizer: quoted, on Italian girls, [111]
- Transfer Privileges in the Schools: use of, [34]
- Truancy among Girls, [37], [38], [39]
- Truant Officer: and the transfer privilege, [35]
- Truant School Needed for Girls, [40]
- Tuberculosis: cases of, among girls, [84]
- Tuzolli, Laura: as a mother's helper, [104], [105]
- Undertakers' Bills, [129]
- United States: length of residence of Italian families in, [109]
- Vaudeville: popularity of, [67]
- Venereal Disease: cases of, among girls, [84];
- in Europe, [82]
- Violence: tales of, [76]. See also Lawlessness
- Vision, Defective: cases of, found on examination of girls, [83]
- Wade, Lizzie: on factory work, [43]
- Wage-Earning and New Relations at Home, [43-56]
- Wages: small on Middle West Side, [22]
- Wages of Girls: in Italian families, customs regarding, [109];
- who attended club, [47].
- See also Pay Envelopes
- Waywardness: among West Side girls, problem of, [17]. See also Immorality
- Weddings: among Italians, [113-116]
- Wells, H. G.: The New Machiavelli, quoted, [66], [67]
- West Side, Middle: compared with East Side as to stability of population, [75];
- influences upon the girl, [16], [17], [75], [77];
- population compared with that of London slums, [82]
- Work: girls' ways of finding, [43];
- lack of, as a cause of dependence in families of girls, [124].
- See also Occupations
- Working Papers: requirements for, [40], [41]
RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION PUBLICATIONS
THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME
By Sophonisba P. Breckinridge and Edith Abbott.
A study of children in the Chicago Juvenile Court. This is the most thorough and comprehensive report that has yet appeared of the methods, problems, and achievements of a children’s court through a series of years. The cases of more than 14,000 boys and girls, the conditions surrounding them, and their treatment by the court, are dealt with in a way to throw new and valuable light on the problems relating to dependent and delinquent children.