gia free admission seems to be provided only for the
indigent blind, while education is made free to all the deaf. On this
subject, see _American Journal of Sociology_, iv., 1898, p. 51ff.

[522] On this subject the superintendent of the Mississippi School
addressed letters to heads of Southern schools, and found only
two--those in Texas and Mississippi--having any requirement as to
payment. In Mississippi there had been only two payments in the course
of a considerable number of years. In the Texas school for the year 1909
we find the sum of $1,546 collected as a "reasonable amount" for
board,--an unusual item in the receipts of a school.

[523] Wherever a formal regulation is stated, we are advised that the
schools are "free to the indigent", "free if parents are unable to pay",
"free under certain circumstances", etc. In a few states, "certificates
of inability" have been demanded.

[524] In Maine, for instance, the law states that the school is free,
"provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be held to
prevent the voluntary payment of the whole or part of such sum by the
parent or the guardian".

[525] Some states, notably Washington, Minnesota, Mississippi, South
Carolina, Arkansas, Utah, Nebraska, and Oklahoma allow funds to pay the
transportation of students who enter the college at Washington, and in
some cases an even further allowance is made. In Minnesota and Nebraska,
for instance, the amount is $300 a year. See _Annals_, lvi., 1911, p.
180.

[526] Even where the age period is fixed by law, it is not always
rigidly adhered to, and considerable elasticity may be allowed. Of the
Michigan school we are told that the state "wisely allows the board of
trustees the privilege of admitting those [pupils] who are older or
younger, if they see fit". Report, 1908, p. 32. For discussion of the
age period, see Report of New York Institution for Improved Instruction,
1870, p. 28; Ohio School, 1872, p. 17; Clarke School, 1888, p. 8;
American School, 1893, p. 32; Michigan School, 1894, p. 22; New Jersey
School, 1898, p. 20; Pennsylvania Institution, 1901, p. 35; Proceedings
of Convention of American Instructors, xviii., 1908, p. 156;
_Association Review_, v., 1903, p. 380.

[527] The formal age period is from 6 to 21 in Colorado, Florida, Idaho,
Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington; from 7 to 21
in Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska and New Mexico; 7 to 25 in Georgia and
North Dakota; 7 to