the after-study hours of the day. In general this condition has come about through greater hospitality toward outside organizations. The largest class of bodies seeking such use of school halls is composed of the mothers' clubs, patrons' societies, and other forms of parentteacher associations. Next in importance are the various taxpayers', ward, and town improvement associations. These groups naturally resort to the schoolhouse as the most convenient meeting place in the neighborhood. Allied with them are the women's civic clubs, housewives' leagues, and similar associations with civic and cultural objects.

Another large group of organizations meeting in the school buildings is made up of those engaged in some form of musical endeavor. These include bands, amateur orchestras, and choral and oratorio societies. To the school building have also come art clubs, natural history societies, Chautauqua circles, county historical societies, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and similar groups interested in self-improvement. Still another large class is composed, very appropriately, of Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, junior chambers of commerce, and other bodies of young people with analogous aims. In the rural districts the farmers' institutes and the grange meetings are frequently held in the schoolhouse.

The amount of use by sectarian and religious organizations is somewhat surprising. The reports show that, in various parts of the country, schoolrooms are used by Sunday schools and missionary societies, as well as for divine worship. Denominational athletic. associations, church societies, Sunday-school teachers' training classes, and Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations indicate other phases of religious activities which are found upon publicschool premises. One city reported that the Jews and one or two other sects were using the schoolhouses after 4 o'clock for sectarian instruction.

This is only a partial list of organizations that are meeting on school premises, but it indicates their general character. The liberal attitude observed by some school authorities toward requests from outside bodies is illustrated by an instance coming from a State in which school buildings can not legally be used for other than educational purposes without specific permission being granted at a town meeting. A superintendent in this State says that "the policy of our committee is, however, to allow the school plant to be used as freely as possible until objection shall be made." Such is also the practice in many other sections.

USE FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES.

"Two of our primary schools were used as voting places with entire success"-in these words a New Jersey superintendent relates the conclusion of a growing number of school officials relative to the feasi

bility of using school buildings for political purposes. In Worcester, Boston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and a number of other cities the schoolhouses have for years been used as polling places during elections. Within the past year the same privilege has been granted in many other cities, in some to a notable extent. In Chicago during the spring elections of 1914, according to the report of the business manager of the board of education—

75 school buildings were used as polling places, and in only 6 of that number were violations of the rules reported by the school officials, the nature of the complaints being smoking, in a few instances, and tobacco chewing. No quarrel arose, nor was there any ungentlemanly conduct on the part of the male voters in the presence of the women or otherwise.

In Boston voting has been carried on in basements of public-school buildings for a number of years, and a special equipment for this purpose has been devised, which is stored away when not in use. In Seattle, Wash., all the school buildings erected during the past three or four years have been provided with special rooms in the basement, having direct outside entrance for use during elections and for other public purposes. In many cities the primaries as well as the regular elections are held on school premises.

There has also been an extension of the use of school buildings for political rallies. In Chicago during the election referred to above, 142 school buildings were rented for political meetings. The business manager writes that-

*

In no instance was it necessary for the board to forfeit any portion of the required deposit of $25 on each school because of damage or any infraction of the rules of the board. * * No smoking or other tobacco indulgences were permitted, and no indications of disorder were apparent after the audience had left the premises on all occasions.

The significance of this report is further increased by the fact that four-fifths of the meetings were held under partisan auspices. At the others all of the candidates were invited to be present at one time, and the meeting was held under the auspices of the local civic association.

The superintendent of Holyoke, Mass., writes as follows:

The use of a school hall for a political rally is on the whole a good thing. We have been able to remove many of the objectionable features of political rallies by instructing the janitors as to the way in which they must force the attendants at those rallies to conduct themselves.

In certain cities the privileges of schoolrooms are given to political organizations of every type, upon request, but in many other places partisan use is forbidden. The growth of direct legislation has in some places given definiteness to the school board's policy regarding political use. For example, in Winston-Salem, N. C.:

When the question of commission form of government for the city of Winston was a live question with us, the school buildings throughout the city were used by the

people as assembly places for the discussion of this matter. Recently, when the question of consolidating the city of Winston and the city of Salem into the city of Winston-Salem was a matter of great concern to all of our people, the schoolhouses were used as places of discussion and debating. Our buildings are never used for partisan purposes, but wherever the question concerns all of our people, whether it be political, social, or what not, we not only allow the use of the school buildings, but we encourage their use and insist upon the people coming to the school buildings which belong to them.

Previous to voting upon a municipal referendum in Springfield, Ill., the superintendent of schools himself presided at a number of neighborhood meetings for the discussion of the question at issue. By insisting upon equal time limits for the two parties to the discussion, an unusually ardent campaign was carried through without arousing public criticism.

From Chelsea, Mass., the superintendent writes:

In our city our school halls are used for municipal campaigns. The city charter reads that the city must provide halls for municipal candidates.

LIBERAL LETTING REGULATIONS.

The large number of miscellaneous occasions in school buildings is to be accounted for by the more generous terms under which outside organizations are being allowed the use of school privileges. The cities in which parent-teacher organizations are admitted to school buildings without expense for heat, light, or janitor service have always been numerous; now this privilege is extended to other organizations. In Springfield, Ill., neighborhood clubs and improvement associations are also allowed the free use of schoolrooms. In Cleveland, Ohio, neighborhood clubs may have the use of auditoriums or gymnasiums upon the payment of a small fee to the custodian. During the 1913-14 school year, 298 organizations used 74 Cleveland schoolhouses a total of 1,932 times, at an expense for custodians' fees of $1,729.91. The total attendance upon these meetings was 120,511, a very considerable benefit at a slight expense.

In Rochester, N. Y., nonexclusive organizations of adults, whose object is approved by the board of education, may have the use of public school buildings without charge if there are other activities going on at the same time in the building. A civic club which meets when no other group is present in the building is charged a small fee for heat, light, and janitor service. Upon the application of 50 adult citizens, boys' and girls' clubs may be allowed to meet in school buildings and have also the services of a responsible director. This privilege is withdrawn, however, if the average attendance falls below 25 during any two consecutive months. Whenever the clubs meeting in the school building have an aggregate average attendance of at least 50, a library and reading room and the services of a librarian are provided. If the average weekly attendance at the clubs during

a month aggregates 100, general lectures are introduced or permitted. These general neighborhood meetings are discontinued if the attendance during two consecutive months falls below the prescribed mark. The board of school commissioners in Baltimore, Md., has a rule that "the assembly room or other suitable rooms of school buildings may be used by responsible civic and improvement associations for the discussion of questions of a public, civic, and educational, but not of a partisan or religious, nature," with no expense except for janitor's services, provided certain minor formalities are observed. The following instances illustrate the important civic service the board is in this way rendering the community:

Permission has been granted to the South Baltimore Business Men's Association to hold their meetings at School No. 70.

The Business Science Club of Walbrook meets at School No. 63 to discuss civic and social problems.

The Maryland Bureau of Statistics and Information has been granted the use of various buildings, located in different parts of the city, to investigate the status of boys applying for newsboys' badges.

The Home Garden committee has been similarly granted the use of rooms in several buildings throughout the city for their meetings.

The Easterwood Neighborhood Association has its monthly meetings at School No. 62 for the discussion of neighborhood and other civic matters.

The use of desired rooms in School No. 61 has been granted to the Cooperative Club for purposes largely similar to the last-mentioned association.

The Park Approach Protective Association also has the use of rooms in School No. 61, in which they hold their monthly meetings for the discussion of civic and social

matters.

The request of the Women's Civic League for the use of Schools 47, 59, and 79 has been granted, giving them the right to hold their district meetings in these schools and to use them as district centers for the purpose of organizing the work of improvement of the school grounds and neighboring surroundings.

The 1914 budget of the New York City Board of Education includes a sum of $5,000 to be used in the payment of janitorial charges incurred in connection with the use of certain specified school buildings by voluntary organizations that are maintaining social center activities.

In accordance with the recent California enactment establishing civic centers in the public schoolhouses, the cities of that State are allowing the use of school accommodations to large numbers of local organizations. In Oakland 18 schools are used by 43 organizations. Their character is indicated by some of their names: Mothers' Club, Exposition Band, Durant Improvement Club, Public Welfare League, St. Aloysius Solidarity of St. Elizabeth's Church, Women's Socialist League, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the Young Women's Christian Association, and the Junior Literary and Social Club. These are but a few of the instances of enlarged service communities are receiving from school properties.

WIDER USE WITH THE AID OF VOLUNTARY SOCIETIES.

The meetings of the outside organizations that are greatly increasing the miscellaneous afterclass occasions in school buildings are mainly for the benefit of their own members and friends. Many of these bodies also cooperate with the school authorities in the maintenance of regularly occurring activities for the enjoyment of persons not included in their own membership. This form of cooperation shows a steady growth. It is important not only because of the extension in the use of school facilities it accomplishes, but also because it generally leads to the assumption of the wider-use activities by the school authorities themselves, and thus promotes a closer relationship between them and the public.

This cooperation may originate either with the school officials or with the volunteer group. Here are instances of both origins. A supervising principal in New Jersey writes:

About that time the teachers and myself began to agitate the subject of opening the school and formed a club called the Social Center Club. We then put the matter squarely before the board of education, and as a result we have now many lectures, various entertainments, informal dances-more especially for young people-tea parties, etc.

The following not only illustrates the origination of an activity by an outside group, but suggests a novel solution of one of the problems in domestic service:

All the schools of the district are open to any proper form of neighborhood activity that develops. The board of education does not initiate very much of the work but is always in a sympathetic mood. As it is now, seven of our nine buildings have something going on one, two, or three nights a week. One new departure has just started, and that is the opening of one of our assembly halls for maids for Sunday afternoon from 4 to 7, where they meet their friends, visit, have their gentlemen friends call upon them, get a cup of tea or coffee, etc., and have a social time. No sports or games are allowed on such an occasion. This was begun last Sunday for the first time, and some 10 maids were there. It seemed to start out propitiously, but what its future may be remains to be discovered.

As illustrative of the various forms which this cooperation takes, a number of examples may be given. The instances where a woman's club has the use of a school building for giving evening instruction to a class of mothers, or where a boys' club is supported and directed by the Daughters of the American Revolution, indicate this type of enterprise in its simplest form. A more comprehensive scheme is found in Elmira, N. Y., where a committee, representing the Federation for Social Service, worked with the board of education in the organization of neighborhood associations at three of the public schools. Under the auspices of these local groups a series of meetings were held at which there were discussions of such subjects as tuberculosis, sex hygiene, bird life, and European travel, interspersed with