Chapter X: Section I: Provision shall be made by the proper local school

authorities for instructing all pupils in all schools supported by
public money, or under state control, in physiology and hygiene, with
special reference to the effects of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and
narcotics upon the human system.

SEC. 2. No certificate shall be granted any person to teach in the
public schools of the State of New York, after the first day of January,
eighteen hundred and eighty-five, who has not passed a satisfactory
examination in physiology and hygiene, with special reference to the
effects of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics upon the human
system.

In 1883 the second petition for a prohibitory constitutional amendment was presented to the senate and assembly. It was defeated in the house by a vote of forty-two to fifty-four, and in the senate by a vote of thirteen to eighteen. Yet these figures show that the prohibition tide is rising.

In 1886 measures were taken toward securing a law prohibiting the sale of intoxicants upon fair grounds. Mrs. H. Roscoe Edgett, of Fairport, the superintendent of the department, was indefatigable in her efforts to secure the law, but it was not until February 29, 1888, that the following was enrolled on the statute-books of the state:

It shall not be lawful for any person to sell, have for sale, give away,
or have in his possession for the purpose of selling or giving away, on
the grounds or premises on or in which any state, county, town, or other
agricultural or horticultural fair is being held, any strong or
spirituous liquors, wine, ale, beer, or fermented cider; and it shall
not be lawful for any person to sell or give away strong or spirituous
liquors, wines, ales, beer, or fermented cider at any place within two
hundred yards of the grounds or premises on or in which any state,
county, town, or any other agricultural or horticultural fair is being
held. This act shall not be applicable to the city of New York.

Until 1887 the laws of the state were such that a child ten years old could consent to her own ruin, and the despoiler of her virtue go unpunished. In April of that year the penal code was amended, raising the age of consent to sixteen years, as follows:

... Any person who takes or detains a female under sixteen years of age
for the purpose of prostitution, ... is guilty of abduction, punishable
by imprisonment for not more than five years, or by a fine of not more
than $1,000, or both.

Following closely upon this was the passage of the police matron law, in 1888, which provided for the appointment of police matrons in all cities of more than 25,000 inhabitants, and the designating of separate houses of detention for female delinquents. In securing this law the Woman's Christian Temperance Union co-operated with other societies. In 1891 an amendment to this law was secured, mainly through the efforts of Mrs. H. K. N. Goff, of Brooklyn, making the appointment of police matrons compulsory in the cities of New York and Brooklyn. The law as amended is as follows:

SECTION I. The mayor of every city in this state according to the last
state or national census containing a population of 25,000 or over,
excepting the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and in the cities of New
York and Brooklyn the boards of commissioners of police of said cities
respectively, shall, within three months after the passage of this act,
designate one or more station-houses within their respective cities for
the detention and confinement of all women under arrest in said
cities....

Through the efforts of Mrs. Helen L. Bullock, of Elmira, the following narcotic law was secured in 1889:

LAWS OF NEW YORK--CHAPTER 170.

An act to amend Section 291 of the Penal Code, relating to Children; became a law, with the approval of the Governor, April 22, 1889.

_The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows_:

SECTION I. Section 291 of the Penal Code is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

A person who sells, pays for, or furnishes any cigar, cigarette, or tobacco in any of its forms to any child, actually or apparently under the age of sixteen years, _is guilty of a misdemeanor_.

SEC. 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

In 1890 it was amended, attaching a penalty for its violation, as follows:

AN ACT to amend Section 291 of the Penal Code, relating to Children;
approved by the Governor, May 24, 1890.

SECTION I. Section 291 of the Penal Code is hereby amended by adding
thereto the following subdivision:

7. No child, actually or apparently under sixteen years of age, shall
smoke or in any way use any cigar, cigarette, or tobacco in any form
whatsoever, in any public street, place, or resort. A violation of this
subdivision shall be a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding ten dollars and not less than two dollars for each offense.

SEC. 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of September,
eighteen hundred and ninety.

In 1891 an effort was made to introduce the English system of barmaids into the saloons of New York City. This no sooner became known to the members of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union than an effort was made to secure a law prohibiting the movement. This was effected by the passage of the following act, April 25, 1892:

AN ACT forbidding the hiring of Barmaids.

_The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows_: