In Brooklyn

The trouble began with "The Star Spangled Banner." A lubberly, stoop-shouldered, churlish boy, one Ralph Esposito, refused to sing it. So his teacher sent him to Principal William M. Rainey's office.* The boy went, but would give no satisfactory explanation of his stubbornness. "Well," said Principal Rainey, "do you want to put on the boxing gloves with one of the other boys? Or do you want me to make your mother come to school?" The boy shook his head against boxing. "See, that proves that he is yellow. He wants to hide behind his mother's skirts!" exclaimed the principal rhetorically, seeking to excite manliness in the pupil. Ralph, shamed, said that he would fight. He and another school boy put on great, softly-padded boxing gloves; Principal Rainey stood by with a stopwatch to mark two-minute rounds; teachers acted as referee and umpire; other students watched. The boxing match began. Ralph's opponent whacked him in the ribs and Ralph cried quits before the first round was over. After school he ran home to complain to his parents. They had Principal Rainey arrested for disorderly conduct. Last week in police court the Principal explained his methods of school discipline: "I believe we have the best method of character training here in Brooklyn. When a boy is insolent to his teacher or is anywise unruly, we give him his choice of bringing his parents to school or putting on the boxing gloves and fighting a boy his own weight. We have been using the plan for more than 15 years and it has had an amazing effect on discipline. Until five years ago it was the practice of the poorer boys to band together and actually waylay the children of wealthy parents and steal their lunches, fruit and money. The last time one of our boys was beaten and robbed ... I rounded up the ruffians and made them put on the eight-ounce gloves with boys of their own weight. That ended the banditry. Of course, the effect is entirely psychological."

The police magistrate dismissed the disorderly conduct case against Principal Rainey. But William J. O'Shea superintendent of New York schools, ordered him to cease his ordeal-by-boxing at once. ^

*At Public School No. 9, Brooklyn.