PLAY CENTERS FOR THE POOR
To the Editor:
Henry De Peyster’s article on Play Centers for the Poor in The Survey for March 22 is interesting and illuminating. Evidently he has made a profound study of the question. But with regard to France I should like to add a few words to correct a false impression which Mr. De Peyster surely had no intention of giving.
As he says, the problem is different in France and Germany from that in other countries; but he does not mention (except tacitly by the picture on page 856) the admirable provision made by the Mission Populaire (the McAll Mission) to meet the actual condition.
In all the larger stations of that mission both in Paris and in the provinces (Rouen, Nantes, Lille, etc.) the daily Ecole de Garde (supervised study and play hours) is an important feature. The children leave school at four—their parents reach home from work not much before half past six. Therefore the boys and girls within walking distance hasten to the McAll station. After a light lunch they are turned into the play-ground for an hour on the parallel bars and the other apparatus. At five they are collected in the mission rooms, where their preparation for the next day is supervised by volunteer teachers.
Mr. De Peyster evidently uses the word “religious proselytism” in the French, not the English, sense. The French word “proselyte” is nearly equivalent to the English “convert.” That the Ecoles de Garde of the McAll Mission do have a religious motive goes without saying. About ten minutes of religious instruction are given daily, but absolutely without proselyting intent. Most of the parents of these children are free thinkers or violently opposed to religion, a few are Roman Catholics, but never a word is said which could mar the influence of any religiously disposed parent. As for the others, the widely established fact that more children from the McAll Ecoles de Garde pass their examinations than any others makes even anti-religious parents eager to have their children attend them. For in France the whole future of every child depends upon his school examinations.
Louise Seymour Houghton.
Washington, D. C.
THE NEW PUBLICITY
To the Editor: