The Saint Paul globe., December 30, 1896, Page 4, Image 4

About The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

4
THE DAILY GLOBE
IS PUBLISHED EVERY DAY
AT NEWSPAPER ROW,
COR. FOURTH AXD MINNESOTA STS.
OFFICIAL, PAPER OF ST. PALL.
Address all letters and telegrams to
THE GLOP.E, St. Paul, Minn.
EVSTERN ADVERTISING OFFICE, ROOM
401. TEMPLE COURT BUILDING, NEW
YORK.
WASHINGTON BUREAU, 1405 F ST. N. W.
complete files of the Globe always kept
oa baud for reference.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
Payable in Advance.
Dally and Sunday, per Month .."»0
Dally and Sunday, Six Months - $-.7.">
Daily and Sunday. One Year - $.">.OO
Dally Only, per Month -- - - .40
Daily Only, Six Months _ PLSS
Dally Only, One Year $4.00
Sunday Only. One Year _ - - - XI.SO
Weekly. One Year - - tjHOO
TODAY'S WEATHER.
WASHINGTON. Dec. ».— Forecast for
Wednesday: Minnesota— Generally fair.
threatening in southeast portion; colder:
northwesterly winds becoming variable.
Wisconsin -Partly cloudy: probably light
re in southeast portion; fresh and brisk
westerly winds; colder in northern portion.
The Dakota*— Fair and colder; variable
winds.
Montana— Fair, followed by li^ni rain or
snow Wednesday night: colder in eastern
i ortions; easterly to southerly winds.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
United States Department of Agriculture,
Weather Bureau. Washington, Dec. 2*.t, 6:4s
p. m. Local Time, 8 p. m. 75th Meridian
Time.— Observations taken at t'ne same mo
ment of time at all stations.
TEMPERATURES.
Place. Tern.: Edmonton 12
Place. Tem.jßattleford 0
St. Paul 8* Prince Albert 4
Duiuth J* Calgary 26
Huron X Medicine Hat 30
Bismarck M] Swift Current 18
Williston 24 Qu'Appelle 8
Havre 2(i Minr.edosa U
Helena .„ . . . .3S 1 Winnipeg 28
DAILY MEANS.
Barometer, M.21; thermometer. 30; relative
humidity. 9fi: wind, southeast: weather,
cloudy; maximum thermometer. 34; minimum
thermometer. 25: daily range. 9: aount of
rainfall or melted snow in last 24 hours, 0.
Note—Barometer corrected for temperature
and ele\ation. —P. F. Lyons, Observer.
-..SM*
THE RUSH FOR THE TROUGH.
Nothing describes so well as the old
familiar phrase "the rush for the
trough" the performance that has now
begun at Washington. The regular Re
publican show of tariff hearings holds
the boards. It is the usual saturnalia
of self-interest, the regular game of
grab. Manufacturers and their agents
flock to the national capital and put in
their claims for permission to mulct
the consumers of the country for their
private profit There is no other thought
In their minds. There is not the faint
est glimmer of unselfishness or even of
decent regard for one another among
them. The proverbial "honor among
thieves" fails when applied to the bene
ficiaries of the protective system. The
representative of the Manufacturing
Chemists' association, of Philadelphia,
modestly states that his people want
"no favors," but only justice. "They
are now being crushed between the tex
tile manufacturers and the importers."
So the tin plate men will, a little later,
enter their plaint because the steel bil
let m^n have pushed them so hard.
And so we go on from link to link of
this villainous chain, each one of which
is striving to rend its neighbor, and
clamoring at the same time for a boun
ty because its neighbor returns evil
for evil. The representative of the
color manufacturers of New York says
that his people are contented with the
present duties. They are ample; but,
he acids, if the duties on chemicals are
to be increased, then there must be a
relative increase on colors. And so up
we go. There must be a boost all along
the line because election debts have to
be naid. There has been promised to
one infant a bottle of pap. and all the
other infants yell lustily that they will
starve, although now well fed, unless
they can be treated with equal liberal
ity. It is not surprising, in view of
these events, to have the naive remark
at the end of the first chapter of this
carnival of greed that "without excep
tion all who appeared today asked for
an increase of the duties on the par
ticular industry in which they were
Interested."
If the Republican party chooses to
cm its own throat, we shall not be
found among the mourners. Its in
auguration is going to bring down upon
it such universal condemnation in this
country as even the Democratic fail
ure to perform the pledges contained in
Its platform of 1892 did not involve.
The manufacturing business of this
country is just as well able, far better
in fact, to maintain itself in competi
tion with the rest of the world than the
agricultural interest. Our farmers meet
on equal terms the cheapest labor in
the world's open market. Our manu
facturers, after a generation of protec
tion, after a development that enables
them to sell their wares in every quar
ter of the globe in competition with
other nations, a development that has
raised our export of domestic manufac
tures to one-fourth of the total of all
that we send abroad, gather greedily at
Washington in this rush for the trough.
They want more taxes levied on the
consumer. They want to make the
farmer pay more for his lumber, his
clothing, his household utensils, for ev
ery article that he does not produce
directly from the soil, in order that
they may put it in their own pockets.
This country will never know enduring
prosperity, and its industries will never
be upon any other than an artificial
and rickety foundation, until we have
put a peremptory end to legislative
favoritism, under the mask of "protec
tion." Setting aside the matter of jus
tice to the consumer, it is demanded
by public decency and by a regard for
ordinary morality that such an exhi
bition as that made by the tariff crowd
at Washington should never be re
pealed.
GETTING XEW LIGHT.
To us, who have fought for the last |
four years against the stubborn pur
pose of the representatives of Minne- |
apolis in the legislature to impose their !
scheme for local government upon cv- i
cry other city in the state, it is a j
strange and wonderful thing that there |
is a strong movement on foot in that j
city to frame a new charter. Public- j
spirited gentlemen have been stirring
In that city, in view of recent disclo- 1
sures, to get up a charter better suited !
to the times and less open to the abuses
common to municipalities. At present
they are pretty much at sea as to what
they ought to do. They realize the in
firmity of their municipal scheme. It
has fathered one of the worst scandals
of the time, and cost the city an
immense amount of money. It is going
to be the parent of prodigally and
rascality as Jong as it exists. The neces
sity for a chnge is apparent. But the
only possibility of change lies in ac
cepting the home rule amendment
v -hlch passed the legislature at the in
; stance of the St. Paul delegation, to
| open to the cities of the state a way out >
I of choosing between their present de- ;
| fective charters and the evil system of j
! Minneapolis known as the Howard !
I charter act.
It is very funny to see the comments i
| of the Minneapolis Journal on the home '
J rule provision. That newspaper would j
j rather suffer anything, publicly or pri- I
| vately. than to get relief from an act j
of legislature that originated with a \
St. Paul senator. So it describes the I
Sheehan bill as a "very unsatisfactory
| and faulty affair." The criticisms that
it makes are worse than puerile. The
principal one of these is that the home
rule law does not provide real home j
rue, because the legislature must first I
prescribe the general limits within i
| which a charter may be framed. If the j
I Journal knows any way by which this j
power could be taken away from the I
| legislature, it ought to trot it out. We
| have never heard of any proposition in
| any city to set up a city government as
! superior to that of the state within
j which it lies. Of course, the legisla
ture must retain its power to set limits
beyond which the city government can
not go, just as the federal constitution
denies certain powers and privileges to
the states. We have never heard that
the states of the Union have no real
power over their own affairs, because
the general limits within which they
act -are prescribed by the federal con
stitution.
In the same line, the Journal objects
becuse "the amendment allows the leg
islature to step in at any time and
adopt general charter laws for cities of
certain classifications of population,
and wipe out whatever charters any
city may have adopted on their own ac
count under the earlier provisions of
the bill." It is probably entirely wrong
in this assumption, "it was necessary,
In order to get the home rule amend
i ment through the legislature, to make
| this very concession to the Minneapolis
| members. Their hearts were set upon
the Howard charter act, to extend the
Minneapolis system to all cities in the i
state. They insisted that nothing
should impair this power of the legis
j lature to pass an act universally appli-
I cable, and it was granted because it
! could not well be denied. To oppose
j it involves the same absurd supposi
i tion to which we have just referred,
that you can set up an imperium In im
; perio and forever tie the hands of the
state government as to local govern
ments subject to its own jurisdiction.
■ It is certainly not possible, without
changing the constitution, and as cer
| tainly not desirable to relieve any city
forever from a supervisory authority of
the state. This provision that the state
may pass general laws does not, how
ever, contemplate that these should
take the place of a charter adopted
under home rule, and to a paper less
careless and prejudiced than the Jour
nal it would be evident that this could i
not be done.
The home rule amendment is not \
merely a law. but, by popular vote, a
part of the constitution of the state of
I Minnesota. Any city that adopts a
; charter under it is acting, not under
| statute, but under constitutional pro
j vision. It is, therefore, plain that
• when the Journal laments that Minne-
a polis might adopt a home rule charter
; only to come down to the capitol to
j fint it wiped out later on by "the St.
! Paul lobby," it is barking at the moon.
That any legislature can override the
| constitution of the state and legislate
i out of existence something which rests
| upon a part of the constitution framed
and adopted especially for that pur-
I pose is a new view of legislative pow
j ers which we commend to a more care
i ful study of the constitutional lawyers
of the Journal.
The interesting fact about the whole
| thing is that the city of Minneapolis
| itself has finally been brought, by di
j sastrous experience, to view the system
j of government by council in its true
light It is the parent and bulwark
j of all kinds of abuses in local govern
ment. It is the friend of rapacity and
I the shield of corruption. Those who
! have made their own fight against it
have justified themselves. No mere,
probably, shall we have to defend the
; other cities of the state from an at
tempt to foist upon them this evil sys
| tern. Minneapolis herself cannot do bet
j ter than, realizing the mistakes of the
j past, to take advantage of (he home
rule amendment and frame a charter
that will be in line with the completest
■ experience of American cities, and that
will at least render improbable the re
; petition of the unhappy experience
i from which she has suffered.
!
GIVE IT EFFECT.
Whatever the coming legislature may
or may not do it should relieve itself
and the state of the scandal of adopt-
I Ing a constitutional amendment con
i ferring upon the legislature the power
j to rectify an admitted evil, with suc
| cessive legislatures refusing to obey the
mandate and give it effect in suitable
legislation. We refer to the amend
ment submitted to the voters and by
them ratified in 1890, adding to section
4 of article 1, which secures inviolate
THE SAINT PAUL GLOBE: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1898.
the right of trial by jury, the provision
that "the legislature may provide that
the agreement of five-sixths of any
jury in any civil action or proceeding,
after not less than six hours' delibera
tion, shall be a sufficient verdict there
in."
This amendment was submitted after
prolonged discussion, In which the
evils of the unanimous verdict were
amply shown. Chief among the argu
ments for the majority verdict was the
opportunity the old system offered to
"hang the jury" by corrupting a single
member of it, and the power thus given
the unscrupulous agents of corpora
tions to procure a denial of justice. The
frequent miscarriages of justice thus
occasioned, as well as those caused by
the presence of a stupid or a preju
diced juror, are matters within the ex-
perience of every lawyer and judge,
and constituted an evil that was a re
proach to our judicial system. It
brought into question the entire jury
system and made thoughtful men ask
if this old bulwark against the oppres
sion of king and noble had not only
outlived its first purpose, but had not
become instead an instrument of the
same kind of oppression it was meant
to guard against.
When, too, in the same courts,
in equity cases, questions of fact,
involving vast sums, are sub
mitted without question to the decision
of the judge, without any suspicion that
the rights of man are sacrificed, it
is puerile to maintain that cases on
the law side of the same court, presid
ed over by the same judge, involving no
more important issue than the contest
ed ownership of a pig, must be re
ferred to twelve peers of the republic,
who must agree upon what are the
facts of the case and unite in a unani
mous verdict assessing the damages -or
determining the title. When, again,
interests as vast as the fiscal policy
of the nation are decided by a bare
majority in the electoral colleges, it
fatigues absurdity itself that absolute
unanimity should be demanded of the
twelve men in the box aa to whether
it was Jones' dog that worried Smith's
sheep, and, if so, what amount of dam
age he caused.
Three successive legislatures have
come and gone leaving a trail of use
less when not mischievous legislation
behind them, and in each of them in
fluences are said to have been power
ful enough to smother any bill seeking
to give effect to this beneficial amend
ment. That these influences, whatever
they were, were not honest is apparent,
for no one who feels his cause just
is unwilling to take the judgment of
a majority of his fellows upon it. It
is just as apparent that one who
knows his cause is weak or unjust
would wish the opportunity to defer
or defeat justice by securing a friend
upon the trial jury who would fail
to see the force of the evidence that
had made, his eleven colleagues of one
mind. Whatever the cause of former
inaction, whether mere indifference or
more potent influences, this legislature
should earn some merit for considera
tion of public interest by giving to the
amendment of 1890 the effect it re
quires by suitable legislation.
SILVER'S REDI'CTIO AD AHSTRDUI.
What Mr. Bryan's party could not
succeed in having done in a legal way,
sundry enterprising individuals, with
an unquenchable faith in the divinity of
silver and an unconquerable purpose
that it have its full rights, are doing;
clandestinely, however, owing to the
hostile and malicious attitude of cer
tain statutes of the United States. It
has been the fashion in all times to
apply opprobrious epithets to those
who were resisting tyranny and striv
ing to promise and install the right,
and these worthy gentlemen are no ex
ception, although they protest, with
vigor, when they do speak, that they
are not counterfeiters. But we an
ticipate.
Some little time ago the receiving
teller of a San Francisco bank, mak
ing up his cash, thought that one of
the silver dollars in his till was a trifle
heavier than it should be. Laying it
aside he sent It to the mint for ex
amination. It was there pronounced
a counterfeit. There was nothing on
the face of it to indicate this except
a trifling imperfection in the milling,
not perceptible to ordinary inspection,
but the assay showed a little more pure
silver in the coin than the 371% grains
in the minted coins. Thereupon the
treasury detectives were put upon the
track, and, putting this and that to
gether, they found that a Montana sil
ver miner had been engaged in the
business of coining silver dollars freely
and quite unrestrictedly, at a ratio of
10 to 1, without waiting for the con
sent of any foreign government, and,
indeed, without that of his own. The
Montanan has managed to elude the
special agents of the treasury who
have been seeking him in order to in
troduce him to his irate Uncle Samuel,
but this accidental find of the San
Francisco teller has made the treasury
officers cautious in receiving silver
dollars, and It is reported from Wash
ington that there have been found by
them many such that were better dol
lars than those from the mints, so far
as their silver contents are concerned.
Could anything better illustrate the
absurdity of the free coinage policy?
AT THE THEATERS.
"The Prisoner of Zenda" was again pre
sented to as large and as enthusiastic an
audience last night as on Monday night. No
admirer of true art should miss this play.
Special matinee New Year's and regular mat
inee Saturday.
• * •
The popularity of farce comedy is being
evidenced at the Grand the present week by the
large audiences which are favoring the per
formance of "McSorley's Twins," as present
ed by Ferguson and Emerick and the capable
assisting contingent. Today at 2:30 a popular
priced matinee will be given and a special
afternoon performance will be given Friday,
New Year's day.
Ice lilitt'loidr.
ST. JOHNS, N. F., Dec. 29.— An ice block
ade on the whole of the Northwestern coast
of the island has begun and steamers and
vessels are returning here, it being-impossible
to reach the mining settlementauncAll navi
gation will be suspended for thai-balance of
the year.
THEY TALK SCHOOL
FIRST DVY'S WORK OF THE MIN
NESOTA EDUCATIONAL AS
SOCIATION.
MANY TEACHERS ARE PRESENT
VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE ORGAN
ISATION CONSIDER BRANCHES
OF TF^ACHkNG.
REPORT OF YESTERDAY'S DOINGS.
. j
Prenldent Parr Deliver* His Annnal
AddreMN— Prof/ Coulter, of Chi
cago, It* Heard.
When President S. S. Parr, of St.
Cloud, called the Minnesota Educa
tional association to order yesterday
for the first general session there were
probably In the neighborhood of 500
instructors within range of his voice,
most of them of course of the gentler
sex. The fact that so many teachers
left their homes and came to St. Paul
during the holidays shows in no mis
takable manner the keen interest taken
in this state in school matters. The
session was held in the Plymouth
church on Wabasha street, and among
those present were the most notable
educators the North Star state boasts,
as well as a number of prominent men
and women only indirectly interested'
in teaching. Noticeable in the audi
ence were: Ex-Gov. Ramsey, President
Northrop, of the state university ; Dr.
Kiehle, Supt. Weld, Stillwater; Mrs. A.
W. Cooley, Minneapolis; Horace Good
hue, Northfield; Martin A. Shoemaker,
George B. Alton, superintendent of high
schools; E. A. Engsctrom, Goodhue
county; President J. W. Olson, Albert
Lea; A. W. Rankin, state inspector of
graded schools; Edward Searing, Man
kato normal school; President Shepard,
Winona normal school; President Lord, !
Moorhead normal; President Kleeber- j
ger, St. Cloud normal.
The session was the thirty-fourth an
nual, and while the general session was
held in the Plymouth cnurch the vari
ous sections met in the capitol, at the
high school and the Windsor hotel. It
was an interesting assemblage, con
taining, as it did,. teachers from every
rank, from university president to the
modest, demure little kindergartner.
During the day the sections considered
everything educational from high
school methods to child study, music,
county superintendents' work, elemen
tary work, while in the evening the
teachers listened to a talk on "Educa
tional Problems," by Prof. John Coul
ter, of the Chicago university.
SUPT. PARRS ANNUAL.
At the general session in the morn
ing Supt. Parr called the convention to
order and straightway delivered his an
nual address. He opened with the state
ment that the Minnesota schools fell
short of the demands made upon them.
So far as direct effects are concerned,
said Mr. Parr, the ultimate test of effi
ciency in the American school system
is not cheapness of cost, nor neutrality
in religion and politics, nor uniformity
of system, nor isolation from other edu
cational interests, nor even superiority
over private establishments, but rather:
First— The ability to furnish equal oppor
tunity to all classes of the community so
that they may be trained to respect one
another and to do justice to the rights and
duties which devolve upon them.
Second— Power to arrange the machinery
of school attendance so that those classes
and individuals who would otherwise neglect
their educational duties and so become a
menace to public safety shall receive such
stimulation as will lessen the dangers from
this source.
Then followed a series of papers by
well known instructors. The first was
entitled "The Stratum in School Be
low the Average," and was read by
Miss Alice J. Mott. of Faribault, who
suggested that the solution of the prob
lem of dull pupils was along the line of
elective schools, making all schools
"special" institutions in the sense of
recognizing the peculiar characteristics
of each child.
George A. Stanton, of Sauk Center,
followed with the topic "The Best
Method With the Slow and Deficient
Pupil." Mr. Stanton expressed the view
that from 7 to 10 per cent of the pupils
in a school might be regarded as ab
normal. It was from this class, he said,
that the ranks of criminals and tramps
were recruited.
LIBRARY WORK.
In the general library discussion held
under the auspices of the Minnesota
Educational association, Miss Littie M.
Crafts, assistant librarian of the state
university, spoke on "Library Econ
omy as a Part of the College Curricu
lum." She explained the relation which
the library sustained to the mission of
educational institutions. It was the
duty of the librarian to teach the stu
dent how to use a library, not what
was in the books, but how to grasp
their contents. Instruction in the use
of the best reference books was essen
tial.
Dr. Hosmer, of the Minneapolis pub
lic library, delivered an address on
"The Relation of the Public Library to
the Schools." Reference was made to
the libraries of Milwaukee, Detroit and
Cleveland as the three libraries of the
country which were the originators of
the idea of the connection between the
public libraries and the public schools.
In Minneapolis, everything was done to
make the relation between the schools
and the library a cordial one.
State Superintendent W. W. Pender
gast spoke on the "Minnesota School
Libraries." He referred to the advan
tages derived by the children of the
schools from the libraries, and their
use for occupying times of recreation.
Dr. Kiehle, of the state university,
continued the discussion. He hoped
that some plan for library Instruction
would be formulated.
PROF. COULTER'S, ADDRESS.
Pedagogues who . attempt to teach
what they themselves do not know
received a caustic treatment last night
from Prof. John JM. Coulter, of the
university of Chicago, who addressed
the University Educational association
at Plymouth church. Prof. Coulter oc
cupies the chair of bo*tany in the Chi
cago university. The subject of his
address was "Some Educational Prob
lems." The address was listened to
with the closest attention and marked
evidence of appreciation.
President Parr introduced Prof. Coul
ter to the association. In his prefatory
remarks Prof. Co«lter said that never
in the history of education had there
been such a movement toward change
as now. A feeling of unrest prevailed.
It was not probable that a leader
would spring up at once and solve the
problem of education. The progress
would be gradual. The truth would at
last be reveaUd by a series of approx
imations. The true education was not
just at hand, but it was nearer than it
was a year ago.
Prof. Coulter, in discussing the prob
lems of education, first spoke of the act
of teaching. In observing the work of
teachers he had noted a general lack
of simplicity in the methods of teach
ing. They were inclined to uvm unnatu-
ral and abstract language that often
obscured their meaning. Far too many
teachers had learned the. form of teach
ing rather than the subject to be
taught Methods cf presentation meant
nothing when the teacher had nothing
to present. It was fortunate that the
human mind was of so tough a struc
ture, that it grew and developed in
spite of the teachers.
"I have sometimes thought," de
clared Prof. Coulter, "that the whole
question of the science of teaching Is,
not how to impart instruction, but how
to Impose the fewest obstacles to men
tal development."
Prof. Coulter next discussed the sub
ject of science ln secondary schools,
devoting special attention to the old
and the present methods of teaching
botany.
The third problem considered by Prof.
Coulter the speaker styled "The Over
production of Pedagogues "—not teach
ers, but pedagogues. An idea pre
vailed that a common school education
and a few weeks' special training
would equip a teacher. It was such a
pernicious theory that was responsible
for the existence of incompetent teach
ers. The great conservator of public ed
ucation was the state. It was in the
power of the state to stop the overpro
duction of pedagogues by making high
er the barrier guarding the entrance to
the profession of teaching. The time
had come when the barrier should be
made higher and higher.
Prof. Coulter's fourth and last prob
lem was "the ever-present one" of
"Schools and Universities." In the
main the universities had imposed more
upon the schools than they had con
ceded. Prof. Coulter said that while
he believed that many of the require
ments for entrance to the university
were wise and justifiable, he did not
believe in so extending the specific de
mands as to make the high school noth
ing more or better than the univer
sity appendage. Prof. Coulter thought
that the specific demands of the uni
versity ought to be very few. Over
specialization was a great evil. What
should be required was a certain degree
of intellectual development. The time
had long since passed when lack of
proficiency in a certain aristocracy of
subjects or studies should block the
avenues to a higher education and pre
vent a student from proceeding with
his education until he had acquired a
certain knowledge of those specific sub
jects. That school or that teacher held
in the dictatorial grasp of an institution
that recognizes nothing but such an
arbitrary system was pedagogically
blind.
Prof. Coulter denounced the set en
trance examination required by uni
versities. The testimony of the teacher
as to the pupil's qualifications was the
best testimony to be had. Universities
seemed to pride themselves more upon
their raw material than upon their fin
ished product. Prof. Coulter added in
conclusion that he had often thought
that the close-meshed seive was placed
at the wrong end of the university
course.
ENTERTAINED BY GREGG.
County Superintendents Enjoy Some
thing of a Treat.
The county superintendents section,
which began its deliberations the night
before, assembled promptly at 2:30 yes
terday in the senate chamber, and for
an hour liscened to a most interesting
discourse from Supt. O. C. Gregg, of
the State Farmers' institute. Mr.
Gregg, who has made agricultural mat
ters a life study, spoke extemporan
eously and his remarks proved to be
of the most interesting character. He
took for his subject "How can the
Home and Social Life on the Farm
Better Prepare the Rising Generation
for Agricultural Life?" At the con
clusion of his address he was asked a
number of questions and a vote of
• thanks was unanimously voted him
for his contribution to the general fund
of information. His address in part
was as follows:
Wherever you find a dull boy, thsre
you will find one who will tamely submit
to the monot6ny of daily drudgery. On the
other hand, where there is a bright intellect,
there will be unrest, as the monotony of toll
gives the mind no employment, and so seeks
to find a place where ft can be suitably en
gaged. Restlessness in the mind is one of
the means by which we attain unto better
things. The intelligent educator will always
seek to find means by which such minds be
come awakened, and indeed would endeavor
to awaken them by making the labor ot the
hand to ever find proper employment for the
mind.
One great difficulty in the average farm life
Is the monotony of toil. Provisions -must be
made in the home for times of relaxation and
change of thought and interest. The speaker
was not ln sympathy with the thought that
all boys who are born upon the farm should
become agriculturists. Experience has
taught us that all departments ot life have
received very substantial aid from men whose
boyhood and youth were spent upon the farm.
Such ones had an aptitude for other voca
tions. The aptitude was what might be called
a divine call for him to do other things.
Among those boys born upon the farm, how
ever, are those who have taste for farm life.
Their ability to succeed in agriculture will
be largely measured by their mental ability.
Such ones, if not properly directed, will
become restless for the reason that we have j
explained, and if they lack recreation will
endeavor to break the monotony of their
lives by seeking a change in other employ
ment.
Books and papers should become a part
of every farm home equipment. Let some of
those papers be the large weeklies published
in our cities. They bring news of the world
in a condensed and interesting manner to the
reader. Let maps, and a globe if need be,
form part of the literary outfit. Let th«,
habit be formed of daily reading, and let
there be no stint of the proper amount of
time for this which is to become a recreation.
One superintendent in conversation
with this speaker, had referred to the
chart used by the institute forces in
their work over the state, illustrating
the methods of barn building and
stable erection. These are never con- j
sidered complete unless provision is
carefully made for ventilating tubes
in these homes for cattle and horses,
but, he added, the ventilation of many
school houses is no better than it was
in the days of our grandfathers.
Superintendent Gregg at this point re
ferred to his own experience with a
young man who had been employed by
him, but was for the winter attending
a school. He was a sturdy, strong
and robust man, but complained short
ly after he commenced attending the ■
district school, that he became drowsy !
between the hours of 9 and 12, and 1
and 4 in the afternoon. The reason ]
was soon made plain. A new floor I
had been placed on top of the old one, !
and storm windows had been added
to the building, carefully battened
down, and with all of this extra care
to prevent draughts, not one single
provision had been made for the re
ceiving of pure air into that little
crowded school room.
Mr. Gregg at this point described a
very cheap but efficient means by
which school rooms could be ventilated
by means of a central flue made of j
sewer pipe, that should be inclosed by
m large brick chimney, bo "creating a
strong upward draft that could be i
utilized in drawing the impure air j
from the floor of the room by means
of a wooden air duct and a simple
register. Speaking of school houses, he
said:
Many school houses in Minnesota are built
upon a bleak knoll, wind-swept from every i
quarter. The majority of school teachers will j
keep the inside of the building tidy and in |
order, but without it is cheerless and for
bidding. No tree for shrub may be found !
about the place, and if any trees have been )
planted upon Arbor day, as Is frequently done, i
they soon seem to give up in despair under ;
the rough treatment they receive. What ;
would It do about the special care of growing ;
trees about the school house? Will It be a
nursery for forestry? Will the trees be
selected with reference to the place so that j
they will be shapely and well-grown when j
they have come to maturity? Will the chil- i
dren receive that instruction which they will ;
need to preserve them, and even to cultivate j
them so far as found necessary for their good :
growth? This would be another means by
which interest in agriculture is excited and
maintained.
Superintendent Gregg referred to his
experience as a little boy in a manu
facturing village in Southern New
York, where most of the scholars of
the public, schools were children ot I
operatives {ar'the cotton mills. Many of j
them, in tripe-nature of the case, were !
rude and rough. At this place, how- j
ever, there wm a teacher who bordered ]
the school ground, that were surround
ed with a high board fence, with flower
beds. Certain scholars were given sec
tions of the bed to cultivate in flowers.
The owners of adjacent land had fruit
trees that overhung the high fence,
upon which there ripened from year
to year, plums, peaches and apples.
These flowers were kept Inviolate, and
no fruit ever was plucked from those
branches, except by permission. The
speaker suggested that the growing of
flowers about the country school
houses could be much more easily ac
complished than under the unfavor
able conditions that he had described,
and suggested that possibly that
might be one of the means by which
interest in plants could be excited, and
from that, interest in agriculture be
stimulated.
In closing the speaker suggested that
the teachers of the various district
schools should exercise their influence
as best they could, to provide recrea
tions during the evenings, that would
tend to counteract What is come to be
a dissipation in many country districts,
by assemblies that meet, even under
the auspices of the church organiza
tions, that keep unduly late hours.
Such assemblies ofttimes keep young
people up at night until the late 'hours
of 1 and 2 in the morning. Such
assemblies are dissipations pure and
simple, even though they may go un
der the guise of a Christian cloak.
Superintendent Gregg closed by urg
ing the county superintendents as
sembled, as well as the representative
teachers, that they should select the
bright pupils who seemed to have an
interest in agriculture, and urge upon
them the value of the State Farm
school as a place where they could
supplement the common school educa
tion that they had received, by a
course in agriculture that would equip
them to do their life work to mucn
greater advantage than they otherwise
would.
HIGH SCHOOL COUNCIL.
One of the Most Interesting Sessions
of the Day.
Perhaps the most representative
gathering of the afternoon was in the
hall of representatives where Superin
tendent Frank Weld, of Stillwater,
called the High School council to order
at 3 o'clock. After a little preliminary
business had been disposed of Super
intendents F. E. Hubbard, of Red
Wing; F. T. Bliss, of Waseca, and
Aaron Schmit, of Jackson, were nam
ed the nominating committee, and
later Superintendent Adams, of North
field, was added to the list.
Inspector Aiton, of the high school
apparatus committee, urged that some
person be retained at a modest salary
to look after the work, and a com
mittee was named including Julius
Horton and F. V. Hubbard, with Mr.
Aiton as chairman, to further a plan
of making the laboratory apparatus at
the state prison.
Superintendent S. S. Parr, of St.
Cloud, reported for the committee ap
pointed to consider a closer relation
between the high school and the uni
versity. Prof. Parr made a strong
plea for a closer acquaintance between
the two institutions named, and point
ed out that there would be a mutual
profit following visits from the faculties
of both institutions, one to the other.
He contended that scholastic demands
are, first, four years preparatory work
upon any of three courses, viz., classi
cal, literary and scientific; algebra,
geometry, history, English and physics
being common to all. Second, a gen
eral improvement of the high schools,
and the use of funds, libraries, appli
ances, etc. Third, a specialization in
securing corps of better trained teach
ers, and fourth, the raising of the
quality of graded work.
William S. Mack, a member of the
board of education of Aurora, 111., In a
paper covered in a masterly way his
views on "A Board's Relation to the
Pupil." The paper from beginning to
end was listened to intently, and was
filled with carefully expressed, concise
views on the various phases of the
relation mentioned. Briefly yet compre
hensively Mr. Mack went over the
provisions made in different states for
the establishment and maintenance of
free schools, the character of school
laws, the matter of school sites and
buildings, and in fact delivered what
proved to be one of the most satisfac
tory papers yet read. He pointed out
the urgent necessity for good grounds,
good buildings and above all good in
structors, and was not slow to say
how to bring about the best results
along these lines.
After a discussion of this paper. Miss
Mary Donovan, of the Stillwater High
school, read a paper on examinations*.
From the famous teacher in the first
century who told his followers about
the fig tree, which bore no fruit, down
to modern instruction, and how to as
certain how it was being imparted to
the pupil mind. Miss Donovan made a
long jump, but took time to contrast
the methods which obtained during the
two periods. Miss Donovan does not
exactly approve what she calls written
final examinations. She does not be
lieve they furnish a real test of the
knowledge of the pupil. She asks "If
the custom of giving final examinations
does not tend to produce general cul
ture, nor to add to the students know
ledge, nor to enhance his enjoyment of
his work, why then do we examine?
It must be that, something is gained by
it. What is it? All that I can see is
a mark." She cited cases where pupils
were careless, inaccurate and indiffer
ent occasionally, and thus fell below
marks which would properly indicate
their real knowledge. The paper was
thoroughly well put together and
was discussed by Superintendent
Ford, of Owatonna, and Superinten
dent Z. N. Vaughn, of Anoka.
GEOGRAPHY AND MODELING.
Tito Subjects Dlseuwsed in the Ele
mentary Section.
Mrs. Alice Cooley, of Minneapolis,
presided over the deliberations of the
elementary section which convened in
the spacious assembly hall at the high
school. "Elementary Geography" was
the topic up for discussion, and Prof.
Darius Stewart, of Fargo, who was
down on the programme very. modestly
for "suggestions," spoke for an hour
during which he advanced a'n'fifnher of
new ideas on the subject of., geography
for younger pupils. Latitude and longi
tude occupied not a little of his at
tention, and during the explanation of
the symbols, as Mrs. Cooley called
them in her opening remarks, the Da
kota teacher made a strong plea for
the handling of geography in such a
way as to appeal to the child mind.
He encouraged the teachers to do all
they could in the way of making the
details clear to young pupils, and forth
with advanced a plan which, he said,
would not give students false impres
sions as to latitude and longitude as
old maps and globes were apt to.
Illustrating his statements with
globes and sections together with
maps, he showed the true relations
different points bore one another, and
explained how by his plan, students
could not go wrong In the matter of
perspective. He submitted tests by
means of maps and quarter sections of
globes made by pupils in his own
school. The matter will be discussed
further today.
Miss Jean Gowdy, of Minneapolis, fol
lowed with a paper on "Sand Modeling,
Its Purpose and Legitimate Use." Miss
Gowdy took the position that sand
modeling promotes self-interest and
activity in the child, gives him another
avenue for expression, in which he
may express himself when words fail
in him, and makes clear through
touch, ideas which he had gained but
partially by sight. A fourth advantage
claimed, was that it shows the teacher
the working of the child's mind.
Miss Gowdy denies vigorously that
sand modeling is dead and lifeless in
the main because neither light nor
shade can be produced, and insists that
it can be made living and animated by
the manner in which it is taught and
used.
Minnehaha falls was mentioned as
being the nearest approach t© an ideal
location for a geography class, present
ing as It does, nearly all forms of land
and water.
The subject was generausly discuss
ed, the discussion being led by Miss
Carrie Robblns, of Mankato.
GRADED SCHOOLS.
Question of the Promotion of PnplU
Discussed.
Room 16 in the oapitol was com
fortably filled with the grade-d school
instructors when George E. Butler, of
Bird Island, the presiding officer, called
the initial meeting of this section to
order. There was to be an hour of
round-the-table discussion with Mr.
Butler leading, and the question was
"On What Principle Should the Pro
motion of Pupils from Grade to Grade
Be Determined?" After the few in
troductory remarks from Mr. Butler,
C. A. Pachin, of Caledonia, opened the
discussion.
It was contended in the first place,
that the ability of the pupil should in
itself determine the matter of pro
motion from one grade to another, but
the mooted question, it was submitted
was how best to determine the ability
of the pupil. Some of the teachers
held that the instructor having the
student, and coming into direct con
tact could best tell his capabilities,
and that no written examination or
test would fully bring this out. This
was urged with special vigor in the
case of the lower grades, where the
younger students had not the neces
sary physical ability to stand the test.
Those taking the opposite view in the
discussion maintained, and it appeared
to be the sense of the meeting, that a
written test or examination was the
true and only medium to determine fot
the reason that whatever the teachers'
ability, or however keen his insight,
there were points which might run
from day to day, and only be par
tially known to either teacher or pupil
The only way, they argue, to determina
these points is to test the pupils ability
to express them in good clear logical
fashion, the object being not so much
to test the subject matter digested, as
to test the pupils power to do work
assigned to him.
STUDY OfThildßEX.
It Is Considered In the Sectional
Meeting.
The child study section met in the
v\ mdsor parlors about 5 o'clock the
members being slow in assembling o tt
account of the other sessions of the
day. in the absence of Prof. Kirkpat
rick, of Winona, who is ill, Supt S S
Parr of the St. Cloud city schools"
presided. Miss Isabel Lawrence, of
the St. Cloud normal school, told of the
child study that had been done at
that institution, comprising the an
alysis of stories popular with the chil
dren, to determine the elements which
were of interest to them and the con
structive work that followed the re
searches thus made. The work, how
ever, was young, and could be judged
but poorly yet. She was of the opinion
however, that the children cared little
for descriptions of beautiful things.
Prof. Parr was of the opinion that the
children appreciated beauty as well as
older people, but he did not believe
that they enjoyed reading descriptions
of such, and while he had observed in
language lessons of small scholars the
frequent occurrence of the word beau
tiful in qualifying nouns, he was un
der the impression that the words were
borrowed from the teacher.
Mrs. A. W. Cooley, primary super
visor in the Minneapolis schools, re
lated her experience. She had ' en
deavored to ascertain from the chil
dren the name of the books they most
enjoyed, in order to determine if pos
sible the elements that appealed to
their nature, but the result had betn
that the lads who were least high and
noble in their reading always' wrote
the name of the Bible or some other
book that they knew she thought was
a good book. Mrs. Cooley precipitated
some discussion by the suggestion that
the attempt to teach the little ones of
things divine, and to gather from them
their ideas of God and heaven had
proven almost equally unsuccessful,
and she was of the opinion that this
branch of study had no place really
in child study, properly so-called.
Prof. Taylor, of Mankato. Miss Blais
dell, Prof. Sawyer and others partici
pated in the discussion.
WANT ML SIC TAUGHT.
Teachers In That Section X»te>
I lianinionsl) for It.
The music section gathered in Room
14 at the Windsor during the early
hours of yesterday afternoon, and
listened to the annual address jf tha
president, Prof. O. E. McFadon, muslo
supervisor in the Minneapolis schools.
Mr. McFadon spoke of the failure of
the last legislature to pass the bill
asked to require examinations in musio
of applicants for state certificates of
the first and second grades, and urged
that the association take steps looking
to the agitation of a similar measure
again at this session.
Charles W. Johnson, of Minneapolis,
also urged the importance of musical
training in the schools, and George C.
Krimbill, of Winona, secretary of the
music section, placed it well at the
top of school studies in point of im
portance in the symmetrical develop
ment of the youthful mentality. Prof.
Curry, of South St. Paul, asked tha
teachers how many of them would ba
in favor of an act requiring musical
examinations of applicants for second
as well as first grade certificates, and
the vote was unanimous.
COLLEGE MEN .MEET.
They Exchange Views on Topics ot
Interest.
The college section met in the Plym
outh church yesterday afternoon.
President Dean Horace Goodhue, of
Carleton college, presided.
Prof. Goodhue spoke on "Higher Edu
cation." Of the colleges and univer
sities in the United States two were
founded in the seventeenth century,
twenty-two in the eighteenth, and 570
in the nineteenth. One hundred and
forty-one were for men only. 310 were
educational, and 143 for women only.
Five million dollars were invested in
grounds and buildings, and $3,000,000 of
endowment.
Prof. Goodhue called attention to
the multiplication and the slow, but
steady increase, both of requirements
and courses. Of 13,142 great Americans,
5,326 were college-bred, and 100,000,000
had lived and died who had not a col
lege education, yet out of these 100,000,
--000 only 10,000 had so wrought as to
deserve recognition in a cyclopedia of
biography.
Prof. Cyrus Northrop followed with
an address on "College Administra
tion."
President George H. Bridgman, of
Hamline, discussed "The Province of
the President;" President If. Wald
slrom, of Gustavus Adolphus college,
"The Province of the Faculty," and
Harlan W. Page, of Carleton college,
"The Province of tho Trustees."
_»
MRS. TUCKER FORTUNATE.
Substantial Windfall Comes to a St.
Panl Family.
WASHINGTON, D. C. Dec. 29.— Mrs.
Mary Logan Tucker, wife ol Maj. Wil
liam F. Tucker, paymaster in the T'nit
ed States army, department )f Dakota,
with headquarters at St. Paul, received
a very substantial legacy from the
late George E. Lemon. Under terms
of his will, which has just been hied .
here, Mrs. Tucker receives a cash leg
acy of $25,000, and a one-fifth interest
in the entire estate. The five-year-old
sen of Maj. and Mrs. Tucker, wlv; was
named after Capt. Lemon, also receives
$25,000 and a one-fifth interest in tho>
estate. These are the largest legacies
left to any two persons under the
terms of the will. During his life, Capt.
Lemon was an intimate friend of Gen.
and Mrs. John A. Logan. Maj. and Mrs.
Tucker are now in Washington, visiting
at the home of Mrs. Logan.