to defeat any attempt at fraud.
Then the school sang Santa Lucia, a sweet Neapolitan ballad. It was
amusing to hear the colored girl and the half-dozen little Irish children
sing right along with the rest the Italian words, of which they did not
understand one. They had learned them from hearing them sung by the
others, and rolled them out just as loudly, if not as sweetly, as they.

[Illustration: THE BOARD OF ELECTION INSPECTORS IN THE BEACH STREET
SCHOOL.]

The first patriotic election in the Fifth Ward Industrial School was held
on historic ground. The house it occupies was John Ericsson's until his
death, and there he planned nearly all his great inventions, among them
one that helped save the flag for which the children voted that day. The
children have lived faithfully up to their pledge. Every morning sees the
flag carried to the principal's desk and all the little ones, rising at
the stroke of the bell, say with one voice: "We turn to our flag as the
sunflower turns to the sun!" One bell, and every brown right fist is
raised to the brow, as in military salute: "We give our heads!" Another
stroke, and the grimy little hands are laid on as many hearts: "and our
hearts!" Then with a shout that can be heard around the corner: "---- to
our country! One country, one language, one flag!" No one can hear it and
doubt that the children mean every word and will not be apt to forget that
lesson soon.

The Industrial School has found a way of dealing with even the truants, of
whom it gets more than its share, and the success of it is suggestive. As
stated by the teacher in the West Eighteenth Street school who found it
out, it is very simple: "I tell them, if they want to play truant to come
to me and I will excuse them for the day, and give them a note so that if
the truant officer sees them it will be all right." She adds that "only
one boy ever availed himself of that privilege." The other boys with few
exceptions became interested, as one would expect, and came to school
regularly. It was the old story of the boys in the Juvenile Asylum who
could be trusted to do guard duty in the grounds when put upon their
honor, but the moment they were locked up for the night risked their necks
to escape by climbing out of the third-story windows.

But when it has cheated the street and made of the truant a steady
scholar, the work of the Industrial School is not all done. Next, it hands
him over to the Public School, cloth