Federal Aid for Education Or, Fiscal Legerdemain; H.P.B. Jenkins

FEDERAL AID FOR EDUCATION OR, FISCAL LEGERDEMAIN tv JJ. P. B. Jentinj It was a cloudy afternoon At story-telling time. Old Kaspar chose a fresh cigar And poured a rum-and-lime, While Peterkin and Wilhelmine Looked at the television screen. They saw a crowd of laughing men Go through an open door, And dump their loads of dollar bills Upon the Senate floor; Then all at once without delay They fought for loads to take away. "Now tell us 'what it's all about!" The little children cried. "It's Federal Aid for public schools," Old Kaspar soon replied; "It pays for schools in every town, And keeps the local taxes down." 264 FEDERAL AID FOR EDUCATION "There was a time," 0 ld Kaspar said, "When folks from east to west Could not afford a decent school, But now they have the best; For when they're short of cash, you see, They get their federal subsidy." "But all the cash those people got Was what they brought today!"

"There are some folks," Old Kaspar sighed, "Who think of it that way; But most believe that Federal Aid Is larger when received than paid." 265 A CHILD'S DIARY MONDAY: Mommy looks awfully tired tonight. She really had a time, putting on a play for the Brownies. She worked on it for weeks, and today they finally gave it. Everybody said it was nice, and that Mommy was doing a wonderful job with the Brownies. I'm glad because she spends so much time with them ... and talking on the telephone with their mothers, and always trying to find out inter esting things for them to do. On account of the play, we had scrambled eggs again tonight, and Daddy said something about it .•. and how he thought a man who worked all day certainly ought to get something better than scrambled eggs when he came home ... and he was getting awfully tired of it ... and if she couldn't cook her family a decent dinner, then he'd eat in New York before he came home. Then Mommy started to tell him about the Brownies, and Daddy yelled In addition to freelance writing, Miss Grieco teaches PTA-spon sored dancing and creative dramatics classes and works with the Recreation Department of Montclair, New Jersey.