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‘‘Save all the white cord that comes 
around bundles, tie the pieces together 
and crochet a dish cloth. It will make 
a nice one.” So says a correspondent 
at the end of an article describing a 
fancy crochet stitch. We don’t believe 
in ignoring the dish cloth, by any 
means ; but we would like to know just 
how many housewives who, after doing 
the necessary things, would have the 
time and inclination to follow the above 
programme. 
★ 
□ Watching the workmen putting down 
asphalt pavement, we noticed that the 
men whose work necessitated their being 
on their knees much of the time, had 
cushions fastened to the knees to pro¬ 
tect them from the bruising which 
would result from constant contact with 
the bard ground. Why do not women 
ease their occupations by similar means ? 
It is foolishness to allow one’s work to 
be more laborious than necessary. Yet 
many a woman will not sit down to her 
work because it “ looks lazy”. 
* 
A playground for children, that has 
been constructed on a vacant lot in the 
city, has, as one of its leading features, 
several tons of clean, white sand, and 
the children enjoy playing in this more 
than anything else. The Park Commis¬ 
sioners have been petitioned to supply 
Central Park with heaps of sand for the 
children’s benefit, but have not yet 
decided to do it. The cherished pastime 
of the country child, the making of mud 
pies, cannot be surpassed, and when the 
city child is initiated into the simpler 
pleasures which Nature provides, he will 
be happier. _ 
A YOUNG REPUBLIC. 
CHILDREN OF THE SLUMS TAUGHT HOW TO 
BE USEFUL CITIZENS. 
HE following sketch of a work be¬ 
ing done among the poor of New 
York, is taken from the Review of Re¬ 
views : 
Mr. William R. George began in 1890, 
and took 22 children for a two or three 
weeks’ vacation to a farm near Freeville, 
Tompkins County, N. Y. He had himself 
grown up as a country boy in that re¬ 
gion, and his sympathy with the children 
of the slums in New York led him to try, 
in a small way, the plan of showing 
them what life in the country really 
meant. Mr. George has strong religious 
convictions, and his summer vacation 
camps have always had a decidedly re¬ 
ligious character. The first experiment 
was so satisfactory that, in 1891, with 
the assistance of several helpers, 210 
children were taken to the Freeville 
farm for two weeks. Besides religious 
instruction, they were taught patriotism 
and the duties of citizenship. The next 
summer, 265 children were taken ; and 
among other things, the lads were given 
a considerable amount of military drill 
on the plan of the Boys’ Brigade. From 
summer to summer, the quarters en¬ 
joyed by the camp were enlarged and 
improved. In 1893, 250 children were 
taken, and beginnings were made in in¬ 
dustrial instruction. The same number 
were taken in 1894, and the scope of in¬ 
struction was considerably enlarged. 
At length, Mr. George’s experience 
had prepared him for the evolution of 
the complete idea of his miniature re¬ 
public ; and his young commonwealth— 
destined to take its honorable place in 
the history of education — was duly 
launched in the summer of 1895, with a 
membership of about 200 children, who 
remained in the camp for a period of two 
months. This Republic is not for the 
smallest children, and the average age is, 
perhaps, about 15, the limits being from 
12 to 17. The keynote of the plan in¬ 
troduced by Mr. George, is perfect lib¬ 
erty, under a reign of self-imposed law. 
When he is asked how he makes the 
Junior Republic work, Mr. George re¬ 
plies that he does not try to make it 
work, that the boys and girls do that for 
themselves ; that he does not impose any 
laws, because his Republic is not a mon¬ 
archy ; that the laws of the Republic 
are made by its Congress, composed of 
representative citizens. Of course, Mr. 
George has provided at the outset a cer¬ 
tain general framework for the guidance 
of his little community. The Constitu¬ 
tion of the United States, and our 
familiar every-day institutions, supply 
the model upon which the miniature 
Republic at Freeville proceeds to work 
out its destinies. 
As a social organism, it must, of course, 
have its industrial and economic basis. 
Every member of the community is as¬ 
sumed to be a worker and a self-sup¬ 
porting citizen. The citizens are divided 
into three industrial classes, namely, the 
class of unskilled workers, the middle 
class, and the class of skilled workers. 
Each citizen is allowed to exercise his 
own judgment and preference in the se¬ 
lection of his work. He may select 
farming, landscape gardening, or car¬ 
pentry ; while in the case of the girls, 
cooking, millinery or sewing may be 
chosen. The triple classification (as to 
skill) applies to each kind of work. The 
different kinds of work are, of course, 
carried on under the direction of Mr. 
George’s adult helpers ; and the classifi¬ 
cation of the workers is made upon very 
strict standards, in accordance with 
which fidelity and conscientious effort 
count for more than natural aptitude. 
The pecuniary advantages of promo¬ 
tion from the lowest to the highest grade 
are very considerable. Thus 50 cents a 
day is the pay for unskilled labor, 70 
cents for work in the middle grade, and 
90 cents for work in the highest grade. 
The working hours are from half past 
eight until 12. The afternoons are de¬ 
voted to recreation. No member of the 
community is obliged to work during the 
regular morning hours, or at all ; but if 
he is off duty, he draws no pay, while, 
if he loses time, his pay is diminished pro 
rata. It must be explained that wages 
are paid in the paper 3crip or currency 
of the Republic, and not in regular 
United States money. But so long as a 
lad sojourns as a citizen of the George 
Junior Republic, his money “goes.” 
Everything Must Be Paid For. 
In fact, the money cf the Republic is 
quite indispensable, for nothing is pro¬ 
vided free of charge ; all meals must be 
paid for, and lodging also has its price. 
Inasmuch as each ordinary meal costs 10 
cents, and the same price is exacted for 
a night’s lodging, while the taxes of the 
Republic amount to about three cents a 
day per capita, it is evident that, unless 
the unskilled laborer is regular and faith¬ 
ful, he is not going to be able to pay his 
bills. If he has been tempted to idle 
away his morning hours, or to spend his 
money upon extra apples or cakes, or 
any other indulgences, he may find him¬ 
self unable to meet the cost of regular 
meals and lodging. In that case, he be¬ 
comes a pauper, and is subjected to the 
indignity of eating pauper’s fare at a 
pauper’s table, at the expense of the 
whole tax-paying community ; and the 
public opinion of the commonwealth very 
soon gives him a lesson concerning thrift 
and self-support, which he is likely to 
remember as long as he lives. 
The material out of which this Repub¬ 
lic, last summer, was composed, it should 
be remembered, was taken from the tene¬ 
ments of New York City ; and steady in¬ 
dustry and pecuniary forethought were 
lessons that it was particularly desirable 
to inculcate. The effect of the Republic 
as regards training in habits of industry, 
and in habits of thrift, was truly re¬ 
markable. The Republic maintained its 
bank, and wages were paid no oftener 
than once a week. When a boy or girl 
drew his week’s pay at the bank, he 
soon learned that, if he spent his money 
recklessly in special indulgences, he 
would be a pauper long before the next 
pay day came around. The thrifty ones 
began to accumulate savings in the bank, 
and they were allowed an interest of 
three per cent a month on their deposits. 
The training in citizenship and politi¬ 
cal methods was only less valuable than 
the training in practical thrift and in¬ 
dustrial economics. The several indus¬ 
trial classes were allowed to be repre¬ 
sented in the two chambers of the Re¬ 
public’s Congress. Each industrial class 
elected one member of the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives for every 12 persons, and 
elected one member of the Senate. Rep¬ 
resentatives were elected for a term of 
one week, and Senators for a period of 
two weeks. Thus the experience of con¬ 
ducting an election was enjoyed eight 
or nine times in the course of the two 
months. The balloting was carried on 
in approved fashion, and so the members 
of Mr. George’s little commonwealth 
were prepared to understand, not only 
what elections mean, but all about the 
conduct and machinery of elections, the 
necessity for pure and honest elections 
in a self-governing community, and the 
proper safeguards to protect the exercise 
of the elective franchise. The short life 
of each Congress, moreover, enabled a 
comparatively large number of boys to 
obtain the experience of serving as rep¬ 
resentatives. Here was the opportunity 
to learn the elements of parliamentary 
procedure, to acquire some training in 
debate, and to come through practical 
methods into a comprehension of the 
origin, nature, and significance of laws. 
It must be remembered that these lads 
were not playing at law-making, or de¬ 
bating in an amateur, imitative fashion 
the silver question or the tariff question, 
or any mere academic propositions ; but 
they were debating with full responsi¬ 
bility, a number of real questions ac¬ 
tually affecting themselves and the 200 
fellow citizens whom they represented. 
In the course of the summer, out of, per¬ 
haps, 200 or 300 bills introduced in Con¬ 
gress, some 55 or 60 were enacted into 
laws, while seven or eight more failed 
to become laws through the exercise of 
the President’s veto. It was a matter of 
practical necessity which needs no de¬ 
fense or explanation, that Mr. George 
himself should fill the chair of the Presi¬ 
dent of the Republic. The constitution 
of this diminutive State does not permit 
Congress to pass a bill over the Presi¬ 
dent’s veto. It was ascertained, how¬ 
ever, in the case of every one of Mr. 
George’s vetoes last summer, that there 
was not a large enough majority in favor 
of the vetoed proposition to pass it over 
the President’s head. 
Learning to be Law-Abiding. 
The office of the judge of the police 
court, who combined in his person all 
other judiciary functions, was filled by 
one of Mr. George’s adult helpers ; but 
trial by a jury of his peers was granted 
to every boy accused of any offense 
against the laws of the community. One 
of the regrettable, but necessary, feat¬ 
ures of such a miniature commonwealth, 
is a jail, or place of detention ; and in the 
earlier days of the experiment there 
were a good many prisoners. Happily, 
in the last weeks, the jail was empty. 
The whole regime of elections, law¬ 
making, the enforcement of law and the 
maintenance of order, the trial of offend¬ 
ers, and the punishment of those con¬ 
victed of breaking the laws of the 
community, was shown, in its actual 
workings, to be an exceedingly effective 
means of political education and train¬ 
ing for honorable citizenship in that 
larger, but not more real, republic, to 
which Mr. George’s graduates must, in 
due time, transfer their allegiance. 
At the conclusion of the season, the 
boys and girls who have credits in the 
Bank of the Republic, are allowed to 
redeem their accumulations in the form 
of clothing—or of potatoes or other sup¬ 
plies which are delivered for them at 
the homes of their parents in the New 
York tenements. Several young people, 
last summer, had accumulated $40 or $50 
apiece by the end of the season, and 
were thus able to provide themselves 
with their winter clothing, or—as was 
actually done in several instances—with 
potatoes enough to supply their families 
for the entire year. Those who had not 
saved anything, but had spent their 
wages, were obliged to return to town 
empty-handed. No exceptions were 
made to this rule, and the object lesson 
was a very valuable one. 
Mr. George had, for some time, hoped 
to evolve a regular farm school and 
home out of his summer experiments; 
but had not expected to enter upon the 
permanent residence plan for several 
years to come. Last fall, however, he 
found that, as usual, there were a num¬ 
ber of boys who wanted to remain, and 
who had no home or fixed abode in the 
city to which they could return. Five 
of these boys were kept on the farm, and 
will remain until they are 21 years of 
age, being known as “resident citizens”, 
in distinction from the summer company. 
The group in full residence is increasing 
gradually, and now numbers nearly 20. 
There are many applications for places 
on the permanent list. It is easy to 
understand that this nucleus of “resi¬ 
dent citizens”, as gradually recruited— 
and domesticated, so to speak—will very 
materially assist in the task of organiz¬ 
ing and civilizing the 200 or 300 “summer 
citizens” coming from the streets of 
New York. 
FOR JOHN'S BOYS. 
FEEL a deep sympathy for the kind 
auntie who entertains the boys of 
dear brother John (page 502). In the 
first place, let her study the nature of 
her guest. At home, he is under re¬ 
straint, but when he goes to the country, 
he expects a rough and tumble time in 
the woods and fields; hay rides and 
pillow fights are connected in his mind, 
as congenial outdoor and indoor sports, 
each perfectly adapted to farm life. 
And I do not think that he understands 
why he may not indulge in one as well 
as the other. Therefore, she would bet¬ 
ter study his nature, and give him a 
certain amount of freedom, and my 
word for it, he will not abuse her con¬ 
fidence. 
Save the pretty spare room for the 
time when, perhaps, John will come to 
spend a quiet Sunday. To him, all its 
dainty neatness will speak in restful 
tones of affection. But for the boys, 
prepare another room, sunny in the 
morning if you can ; let everything be 
clean and sweet, but plain and strong. 
Five-cent muslin, well bleached and 
carefully ironed, will give the boyish 
head as sweet rest as the linen with lace 
edging. A plain shade with a graceful 
drapery at the top, and short pane cur¬ 
tains that slip on a rod or stout wire 
and do not have to be tied up in knots 
to get them out of the way, will make a 
window just as pretty as the more grace¬ 
ful long ones. Let the toilet set be of 
blue and white enameled ware—light, 
large and strong. A square of stout 
carpet securely tacked down will soften 
the racket of boyish feet. A set of 
roomy shelves is a wise addition to such 
a room, to hold the numerous treasures 
