LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF EDUCATION, Washington, December 18, 1913.

SIR: On a recent visit to Girard College, Philadelphia, I was so impressed with the evident good health of the boys in that institution and with the attention and care given to this important phase of the institution's work that I requested Dr. Cheesman A. Herrick, president of the college, to have prepared for this bureau some account of the health work of the college. President Herrick has very kindly complied with my request and has forwarded the manuscript transmitted herewith. I recommend that it be published as a bulletin of the Bureau of Education for distribution among the officers of orphanages, home schools, so-called industrial and reform schools, schools for the feeble minded, State schools for the deaf and the blind, and other institutions in which children are detained and on which they depend for the care of physical health as well as for education. The importance of the proper care of the health of children in such institutions is indicated by the fact that reports to this office show not less than 90,000 inmates in institutions of this kind in the United States.

Respectfully submitted.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

P. P. CLAXTON,

Commissioner.

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CARE OF THE HEALTH OF BOYS IN GIRARD COLLEGE,

PHILADELPHIA, PA.

I. GIRARD COLLEGE.

By FRANK O. Zesinger.

Girard College was founded and endowed by Stephen Girard, mariner and merchant, a native of France, who came to Philadelphia in 1776. After a long life of service to his adopted city, State, and country, he died in 1831, leaving the bulk of his estate in trust to the city of Philadelphia for the erection and maintenance of what is now known as Girard College.

The following extract from his will clearly expresses his purpose: and whereas I have been for a long time impressed with the importance of educating the poor and of placing them by the early cultivation of their minds and the development of their moral principles above the many temptations to which through poverty and ignorance they are exposed; and I am particularly desirous to provide for such a number of poor male white orphan children as can be trained in one institution a better education, as well as a more comfortable maintenance than they usually receive from the application of public funds.

The bequest for the erection of the college was $2,000,000, and the endowment for its maintenance amounted to about $3,500,000. Girard College was formally opened in 1848 with 100 pupils. Since its founding it has sent out into the world nearly 8,000 boys. The college is located in the northwestern section of the city and covers a tract of about 40 acres. There are 14 large buildings. The present attendance at the institution is 1,500.

Boys are admitted to the college between the ages of 6 and 10 and are maintained and educated until they are prepared to leave between the ages of 14 and 18. The course of study as prescribed covers 11 years.

The management of Girard College is vested in the board of directors of city trusts, composed of 15 members, 12 of whom are appointed by the judges of the court of common pleas of the county of Philadelphia, and three ex officio members, the mayor and the presidents of the select and common councils.

The following outline shows the plan of organization of Girard College and the emphasis placed on the health and welfare side:

Opthalmologist, 1.
Chief of ear, nose, and
Chief of dental dept.

Consulting surgeon, 1.

Head nurse.

(Nurses, 5.
Cook, 1.
Waitresses, 2.
Housemaids, 6.

Prefect, 1.
Seamstress, 1.

throat department, 1.
Clerk, 1.
Dentists, 2.

SUPT. ADMISSION AND DISCHARGE AND ASSISTANT AND 1 CLERK.

The health of the pupils has always been one of the chief concerns of the management, in accordance with the will of the founder, which declares: "Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to this end their persons and clothes should be kept clean."