TEACHING CITIZENSHIP.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3769, 27 August 1907, Page 3

TEACHING CITIZENSHIP.

♦An interesting experiment in teaching the duties and responsibilities of citizenship is described by Mr Charles J. Bushnell in The World To-Day. The article bears the title of “ Progress City,” and gives an account of a summer educational experiment carried on at the Hiram House Social Settlement in Cleveland.

From among the mixed foreign population living in the neighbourhood of the Settlement, the workers formed a model juvenile city and industrial school combined. The citizens consisted of over 400 children ranging in age from eight to eighteen ; —“ Every morning in the week, except Saturday and Sunday, these young citizens assembled under the great awning on the playground of the Settlement to hear reports of their public officers, sing patriotic songs, receive and discuss petitions, enact laws, carry on elections, and in general consider and direct the management of their city’s public concerns.” The ballot system was in force, and woman suffrage was law. At times it happened that very capable girls were elected to public office, much to the chagrin of the defeated boys. The terms of office were of one week, and one reelection only was allowed. There was a mayor ; a city council and clerk ; a city treasurer, who had control of the city bank and the audit, treasury, and inland revenue departments; a city judge and a city court; a postmaster-general; a very successful’ weekly paper, with its editor; a street-cleaning department ; and a chief of police with six constables under him. All these officials, except the last named, were elected by the citizens.

Eight industrial departments filled up every moment of time left after the discharge of civic duties. The eight departments were devoted to carpentry, painting, printing, brass hammering, weaving, cooking, sewing and millinery. Local industry was in every way patronised, even the municipal newspaper, cheques and deposit slips being printed by the citizens : “All excess goods were sold through the store. All workers both in the industries and the offices, were regularly paid through the bank in Progress City money which was made good through sales at the store, and picnics and excursions about Cleveland.”

Every citizen had his pass-book and banking account, and was duly taxed —a ten per cent, income tax ;—“ One of the most interesting institutions was the Court. The laws passed by the General Assembly and City Council, covered a considerable variety of subjects ; theft, disorderly conduct, trespass, contempt, etc., each with careful definition and penalty, usually fine and exclusion from the playground. ’ ’

The first week the court dealt with 1.7 cases (eight being convictions) ;’but there was a steady decrease in the statistics of crime, until in the fourth week they had dropped to zero. The experiment seems to have been altogether satisfactory, not only in teaching the mechanism, but also in inculcating the true spirit of citizenship. 1