SCHOOLBOY LABOUR.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15894, 7 May 1917, Page 7

SCHOOLBOY LABOUR.

- OPINIONS OF MASTERS, THE SCHEME FEASIBLE. The suggestion which emanated from the National Efficiency Board to utilise the services of senior boys and girls who attend the {secondary schools for work of a national character during the long vacations, was brought under the notice of some of the masters of secondary schools in Christchurch In- a representative of "The Press,"' who obtained some interesting opinions on the subject. Mr C E. Bevan-Brown, headmaster of the Boys' High School, stated that he had already forwarded a communication to the Board of Governors of Canterbury College on the matter, and had pointed out that it would be possible to make an adjustment of the holidays so as to let the boys be at the disposal of the National Efficiency Board for half of December and tho whole of January anrl February, or, if it suited better, lor the whole of December and January and half of February, altogether two and a half months. It would be very necessary to get precise arrangements made by the tirst wee!; in August, and there would also have to bo a pronorly laid out scheme for allocation una boarding out ready by the beginning of November. At present the bulk of the examinations were in the latter half of November, so that the months of December, January and February, as mentioned before, seemed to be the most suitable, unless the dates set down for the examinations were altered by the Senate. Two years ago he made an offer to the Farmers' Union of forty boys for farm work, but the members of the Union did not >eem able to place the boys, although most of the boj's managed to find farm work to do for themselves. During the last holidays over forty boys were working on farms, and several of them were allowed to come back late to school to enable them to finish the jobs they had in hand. He had told the Efficiency Board that possibly they might desire the services of some boys for the present May holiday, and he had sent along a list'of thirty boys, giving their full names and addresses, but up to the present he had not received a reply to that communication. He had only received the circular regarding schoolboy labour from the Board the day before the school broke up.

Mr Bevan-Brown said he thought the whole scheme was a very excellent one, but it would certainly require very careful organisation, and a thoroughly well thought out plan should bo laid before the masters arid governing bodies of all secondary schools early in August to allow of the adjustment of tho September vacation and the planning out of tho rest of the year. Ho was quite sure that a large number of boys would enter wholeheartedly into the idea of working on farms if they thought they were beino; of any service to tho country.

In reply to a question, Mr BevanBrown said ho had not tnought much "about the question of pay, though he presumed the hoys would bo paid for the ivork they did. With regard to safeguarding the morals of the boys, ho had alreadv referred to that when lie said that there would have to be very careful billeting, and ho took it that the Efficiency Board would bo responsible for seeing that the boys were sent to suitable placcs. The farmer who received the boys should feel that they were under his care, and that he was' bound to give them proper supervision. Personally he had not contemplated tho boys going into the shearing shed.v 1 but considered that they would bd needed mot-e for agricultural and harvest work. "Tho matriculation and junior scholarship examinations," concluded Mr Be van-Brown, "take place at the beginning of December, unless the Senate alters the date, so probably tho last half of December and January and February would be the most suitable time for the boys to get away." Mr F. D. Waller, headmaster of the "West Christchurch District High School, also gave a general approval of the idea, though he was empnatic on the point that very careful supervision and selection would be needed as to the class of farmer to whom the boys would bo sent. He had no doubt, however, that this could bo satisfactorily managed, and ho also had no doubt that the boys themselves would be only too keen to take on work in the country. Asked whether ho thought the boys' morals would stiffcr as tho result of work in the country, Mi* Waller said that already a good' many of his boys had gone working in the country, and he did not notice that it had any bad effect upon them. He considered that it would be quite easy to organise a I workable scheme to utilise schoolboy labour, but it must always be rcmenij bered that the parents' consent would hare to be obtained before the boys could go, unless, of- course, the scheme was going to be a compulsory one. On the other hand, he considered tho idea of utilising the services of the senior 1 girls presented a much more difficult problem. Another headmaster of a secondary school saiiKhe thought that in any such scheme as was suggested it would bo necessary for parents to know exactly to whom it was proposed to send their boys ; also it would be necessary for them to know what boys it was proposed to send with their sons. "Speaking as a parent." he said, "I should not like to think my hoy was going out with a party of strangers. Thev might be all right, but then again, they might, not, and I should not give permissioi. unless I knew who they wore. It would be fat- bettor, [ I think, to let the boys make up their own parties. Three or four mates | going together to it place would have a far happier time and do better work, too. than if they were strangers, or possibly enemies. It would not do | even to send parties arbitrarily from one school unless thev were mates, for the boys might be particularly antagonistic to each other. Ido not think that there will be much chance of obtaining tho services of manv, if any, of the senior girls for work in tho countrv. The position in regard to them is very different, and I cannot imagine n mother consenting to let her daughter go out from the home to undertake work, though it would be quite possible to use them for day I work in town."