The daily gazette., 1877-12-17
Our Washington Letter.


O.
THE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL CoNvEN-
TIoN-BoB. INGERsoLL AND CONGRESS
-PAGANs, PEDAGoGUEs AND DEMA-
GoGUEs-HAPrY SENATORS CoNKLING
AND PATTERsoN-wHAr DELIGHTS
THEM.
ltrom our regular correspondent
WAsHINGToN, December Is.
We have had reason for boundless co n
tentment in Washington this week; for
besides the common blessing of congress,
we have been favored with the presence of
national convention of pedagogues and
Bob Ingersoll; all harbingersers of sweet
ness and light. / say pedagogues advisedly
for while many of them aspire to be ped
ants few have sufficient learning for that
distinction. Our public schools, in SO ia r
as they teach the poor boy or girl to read ,
write, and compute, deserve to be sustained
but as an asylum for quacks who have
failed, or never dared to cempete in those
walks of life where attributes of robust
manliness are required, the schools take
precedence even of the National Treasury
department. Conceiving 1t to be the duty
of yeur correspondent, 1 have attended
some of the meetings ofthe National Con-
vention of Education, have always
come away with disgust as deep as that
which healthy man feels after listening
to Buncombe in the House of Represen-
tatives. They read interminable papers
on school discipline, m methods OF teaching,
super1ntendence, courses of study ETC.; and
then they have what is called a discussion
on the subject of the last paper read. The
papers, as rule, are so hackneyed and
pOintleSs, that no editor could afford to
publish them; and the discussions are little
more than cant about moral suasion, and
moulding perfect men and women. Heaven
pity these narrow chested, scant Drained.
slim souled journeymen educators, and
protect, as much as possible, the rising
generation from the influence of such
models and such artists.
A man from Boston read a paper on
teaching mechanics in schools. The essay
was weak, and full of the commonest
truisms about the mechanical powers. He
demonstrated las though IL were something
obstruse, how boy was taught to make a
screw-how he used the vice, and how he
filled the thread. The whole mystery was
about this: when a great philosopher de-
sired to eat cherry, he took IL between his
thumb and fingers and opened his mouth
Gmagine the man from Boston initiating
the action of the philosopher) the rationale
of which was that cherries were made to
eat and the mouth to open. And yet halfa O
score of asses pretended to be interested in
the matter and inquired with affected
earnestness. Chow long did il take the
boy to make the screw? What kind of a
screw did he make at first? And other
questions of like stiffness, the discussion
OF which involved in deeper confusion the
vexed question as to how, how long, wheth-
er, why and wherefore,a "a boy would convey
cherry to his mouth. would not make
the impression that all the men of this
convention are as petty as the prophet
from Boston, and the majority. There
were present men of broad and general in
formation, men, not merely of one book,
m a " yf-hn hut Of hos he
Some of these men were here, but they sat
silent and kept up n deal of thinking. 1t
seems TO be fatality of our age and insti-
tutions that only quacxs and pretenders
come to the front; demagogues in politics,
pedagogues in education.
five had no more encouraging landmark
of progress than the average. clap trap
whether tie world had made much ad van
cement since cloistered philosophers rack
ed their minds on the question as to how
many souls could stand on the point of a
needle.
Bob. Ingersoll delivered his lecture on
Liberty" TO large audience in Lincoln
Hail. Judging from the Cabinet minis
ladies, and lawyers, that went to hear
him, and from their close attention and
frequent applause, his lecture was great
success
In congressional matters there is little
you have not heard. The happiest Sena-
tors at present are Conkling and Patterson;
Ju0 one, DeCduSe ne I66lS J1db nc mas D6dJ
the President; and the other, because he
has beat the penitentiary. The face of
Senator Conkling was radiant with exul-
tation yesterday, as he sat at his desk,
reading congratulatory kilograms from
New York. "1here is nothing SO success
full as success" and the Senator has for
time at least scotched what is called the
civil service party, is bigger man than
Old Hayes, is peer instead of a vassal. If
this fight and victory had occurred during
the last administration, Senator Conkling
would have stood better chance at the
Cincinnati conventions; but there will be
aRother convention in 1880. G. A. S.