The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-08-29

Response Of ": 8. StesySe 10 tAe above
toast at fha banquet to fhe Press 0f
.NorshVestern Michigan, stcen ia BIs
Rapids, July II, 1870.

ouT coiieSes eACcpt 40 al oCCasiohai ioPOiioi,
should feel ridiculous In boring you with long
speech.
There are three ways of filing the inner
man: l., to follow that economical boarding
( house keeper who gave her bearders dried ap-
Piles for breakfast warm water for dinner, and
confederate soldier who, being seen to chew
green persimmons by his commanding officer,
was told that they were wholly unfit for food,
whereupon lie replied, 81 don't take them as
food, gineral, but to pucker up nv stomach to
fit my rations; and 3, the method you have
adopted, OF spreading abundant wholesome,
and delicious vlRnds before your guests, and
giving them time to eat and enjoy the same
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
furnish the newspapers with readers. They
are the fountains from which subscribers flow.
Close the schools, and the printing presses
would stand still and the editors would have
to work at something which, IN majority Of
cases, would pay them better But our schools
should be made more practical and thorough.
They should reduce their field and cultivate 1t
better. They should turn out correct spoilers,
/ plain readers, legible writers, ready arithme-
ticians, with enough geography and history
thrown in to enable the pupils to move around
IN society and in the world like intelligent be-
| ings. A graduate coming out of 100000
palatIal school-house, who does not know in
what ward OF his city that school-house stands
nor how his county is bounded, nor what race
OF men first settled his state, nor what caused
the war OF the rebellion, is practlcing fraud
on the tax payers, or, at least, those who got
up such system Of education are practicIng
fraud. The textbooks in which l studied
geography began with the solar system, trav-
eled down to this globe, then to the continents,
then to different nations, and scarcely got as
far as the state wherein l lived. But the true
system, think, would be to begin with the
chlld's cradle, proceed to the different rooms,
then to the outside Of the house, then the lot
the block, the street, the ward, or the township,
the county the state and nation, and lastly the
globe. In this way geography would teach the
pupil at every step and turn he made, and
would be vital, useful branch OF knowledge
instead Of . snadowy abstraction.
1 once took boy to learn the printing bust
ness, and he set up in type the word commit
tee IN three different ways, and all OF them
wrong, namely ''comittes,' "comittie,r com
nifty" and when | criticised him, he said
was "too particular; and 80 it became neces
sary to look for another boy, and several
appreciated this little matter OF spelling cor
rectly. And yet good spelling is at the very
base OF all our written and printed language,
and errors here are likely to bring more dis
grace than anywhere else.
OUR COLLEGES
are to be especially thanked by tne press, for
they send US out large crop OF frst-class
editors every year. These young men walk
into the various sanctums Of the land, flourish
ing their diplomas, and claiming the highest
positions. They despise the long and painful
drill to which printers are subjected, aud ex-
pect to jump to the top OF the ladder in about
two steps. There may be exceptions, but 1
have never yet known any fresh college gradu-
ates who did not need to be trimmed down,
spurred Hp, rubbed, sharpened, held to rigid
and to have their punctuation and capitalize
ton corrected, before they we're Of much value
on newspaper. The most careless, trouble
some and aggravating copy" have ever seen,
for the press-and 1 have handled cords OF it,
in the regular course OF buslness-was prepared
by some d. D., L. L. D., NJ. D., A. NJ, A. B.,
or other owner OF college title. You have
probably heard that when Horace Greedy listen
ed to the 'show" Rotations in French OF some
schoolgirls at Battle Greek, be told them % 1t
would be OF much more value il they would
find out under what conditions milk soured:"
and when the boys recited in Latin, he advised
them to learn to swim instead of spending 80
much time over the classics
wondered, in riding to your city, this after
noon, what could be done with the enormous
quantities OF shingles near the various stations.
Shingles at the right, shingles at the lett, shin
giles in front, shingles everywhere, and the
buzz OF shlngle-mills was the prevailing sound
But it is explained in the fact that our univer-
sity turns out a multitude OF new lawyers and
doctors every year, and these shingles are all
needed for their signs. You may keep on
making shinGle and be sure OF market, 60
long as the state keeps on producing lawyers
and doctors at the cost Of the people generally
That good common-school education is OF
superior value in practical affairs is shown in
the educational history OF our governors during
the last 80 years. Seven OF them out OF ten
were trained in the common schools and the
practical business Of life, while three were COL
lege learned. Michigan has been fortunate in
the ability and integrity Of her executive off,
GERS. and very fortunate indeed to get them
for 81 900 per year. The same rule applies to
our legislatures, which, although regularly
scolded by disappointed lobbyists, have yet
made this state nearly model IN wise economy,
joined with hberality. No state manages her
institutions with better success or less waste
and mistakes. Two-thirds of the senators this
year were educated only IN the common schools,
and large majority OF every house OF repre-
sentatIves-the popular body, which controls
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES oil their early educa-
ton from the common schools l will not bore
you further with statistics.
Ezekiel Webster, on beng asked "why his
brother Daniel was sent to college, while the
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