265 Mass. 452 | Mass. | 1929
This is an action of contract to recover the purchase price of six hooded coats, ten basketball shirts, ten pairs “B.B. pants” and ten pairs footless hose, sold by the plaintiff on orders from the school committee of the defendant city. The case was submitted to the judge, without a jury, on a statement of agreed facts, from which it appeared
St. 1906, c. 251, first gave the school committee supervision and control of athletic organizations composed of pupils of the public schools and bearing the name of a school, and authorized it to determine under what conditions such organizations may enter into competition with similar organizations from other schools. St. 1919, c. 292, § 4, extended this control to other school organizations.
St. 1911, c. 314, first provided that "School committees
St. 1921, c. 360, amending G. L. c. 71, § 1, first required public schools to give instruction and training in indoor and outdoor games and athletic exercise. This was based upon a petition for legislation to provide physical training for pupils in elementary and secondary schools of the Commonwealth.
The only authority given the committee to purchase articles to be loaned is contained in G. L. c. 71, § 48, which provides that “The committee shall, at the expense of the town, purchase textbooks and other school supplies, and, under such regulations as to their care and custody as it may prescribe, shall loan them to the pupils free of charge. If instruction is given in the manual and domestic arts, it may so purchase and loan the necessary tools, implements and materials.” The articles described in the declaration could not be purchased by the committee to be loaned to pupils unless they come within the description of school supplies in this section. St. 1921, c. 360, did not purport to take the place of or to supersede the provision previously enacted relating to
It is assumed that there are good reasons why members of a basketball team while practising or playing with other teams should wear articles like those purchased, although the record is silent on this point except in so far as an inference may be drawn from the reference to them as athletic goods, and from the fact that the committee bought them to be worn by members of the basketball teams and that they were so worn. But to hold that athletic clothing is to be included as a part of school supplies required by G. L. c. 71, § 48, to be furnished by the municipality, .would be giving such an unusual meaning to the words “school supplies” that we ought not to reach that conclusion unless the legislative purpose to include it clearly appears. In Affholder v. State, 51 Neb. 91, 93, the court in construing the law of that State said: “'School supplies’ . . . means maps, charts, globes, and other apparatus necessary for use in schools.”
When instruction in the use of tools and cooking was introduced in the schools, St. 1894, c. 320, the Legislature by § 2 of that chapter provided that the committee might purchase and loan to pupils the necessary tools, implements
Exceptions overruled.