Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-05-20
SHALL DRAWING BE TAUGHT IN THE
PUBLIC SCH00LS7
The Pen and Peucjl the InStru.
ments of Human PrOgreSs-The
Washington High school Of the
Future.

Warrington High ScnOOt Oh the
Future.
Gen. William Birney delivered the following
address at the school examin alton In DRAWN ?
| day: To those who have studied the
works exhibited here, 80 cre1itaole to our boy
and girls, the cheap advantages Of teachiag
drawing In the puoiic schools must be ape
parent Is 1t possible that the youth wno
have drawn from memory so many OF the
maps upon these walls Will ever forget the
Outlined so well? VIII they lose the habit OF
observing size, proportion. material, color and
numoer which they have formed IA sketching?
VIII not the sense OF beauty 10 form, C lit.
va ed in seeking for lines OF grace, aoide with
them always?
Drawing teaches how 10 use the eyes to good
purpose. Most men, In seeing, see not. Taey
pass noble edirce, but can not tell Its height,
proportion, material or architecture; tney
traverse park, but the drives and walks are 10
them labyrinthine maze: they look upon
machine. but the polished wheels, the Do verfll
pistons, the cylinders and shafts are to them
nothing but a blur OF shining steel. To the
draughtSman, however, trained to exact study
or details the edlflce tells It's tale of Ionic or
Corinthian or Gothic harmony: the park reveals
its varied beauty OF landscape; and the bright
machinery ceases to be complex and moves
the quick-fashing wheel has the diameter re.
quireo fer the force needed, and no more The
draughtsman is the close observer. He notes
the broken lines OF the mountain ridge the
trend of the shore, the slope of the HILL the sort
curves OF woman's form, fhe rugged drapery OF
The lions neck. the rounded Keel Of the shio
He Is EOth1Dg, If not accurate
TRUTH TO NATURE
Is his measure of success. He presents tie
exact shape Of every insect, fish and higher an
imal. II he draws fossil, each line must ap-
pear; II tree, the leaf must tell whether IL be
beecn or oak. How great, then, must be the
value OF the pencil to the educator, whose Ddsi-
ness 1t is to teach youth TO get clear ideas aud
express them!
Is tie pupil preparing himself for the profes.
sion either OF soldier or sailor? Let him learn
to draw; for, other things being equal, the pen
Gil is the magic wand which u1oars the crystal
gates Of West Point and Annapolis.
is ne TO De civil engineer? He must know
how 70 handle his pencil; for his work Is frat
done on paper. The profiles OF his railroads,
the arches OF his bridges, the strength CT his
uessel-work,- must be Justified by the Go.
monstratton OF the crayon.
is he to be a macninst? He must draw:
Every beam, rcd, stack, bolt and rivet OF loco
motive exists On paper before 1t is fashioned 10
lion or steel. In the machine shop, IN.
dfaGghtsman Is as necessary as the foreman o.
the work.
Does he aspire to be an architect? To the
perch! for every room, from the garnet 70 the
cellar, every part of the house, from root-rIfge
to foundatfon stone. closets, stair cases. VIII
dows, doors ana hail ways, must be thought out:
the plan that out come OF years OF thought,
training, must be as clear as ray OF reason
To every professional man. the art of pfcyo.
rial ,presentnlent supplements the sh)r6-
comings OF expressions in spoken Language;
the laWy er clears up his case by plots AMI
diagrams. and the medical author gives MIS-
thought precision by wood-cuts aud engrav-
In S.
The traveller IN foreign land Can ask with
the pencil for what he wants. He mus, how
ever, sketch better than Alexander Dumas did.
That novelist travelling in Switzerland tn a
German canton, wished TO dine on mushrooms,
the celebrated deitcacy OF The locality. bur be
Ing unable to say mushroom In German,
sketched enc on leaf OF his note book and
gave that as his order. The waiter examined
Ii and brought Dumas an umbrella!
NECESSITY FOR THE MECHANIC.
What is for the professional man an accom-
rlishment or convenience is necessity to the
mechanic. To some men God has given con-
structiye capacity. They build as Instinct
lively as birds do nests or as coral insects make
their rosy palaces under ocean waves. Their
hands are cunning In fastening wood and
bind the great forces OF nature, aud make them
minister to the wants Of man. It Is such az
they WHO put up the temple OF Jerusalem WITH
out SOUND or AK or hammer. 1t was a me-
chaDic, deft worker In BRASS and fir In iron
and CEDAR. for whom the wise monarch OF old
time stepped down from the throne, calling
lin TO Slt on IL as the more worthy to reign.
IL Is the mechanic and manufacturing class
who. In the United States, Will elevate our peo.
pie, through material comfort TO a higher
plane o. civilization. While the farming, the
mercantile and the professional classes, must
each, ID the social progress Of the future Ill.
mln1sh II relative number to the entire popu-
latlon: the tfSt, because with steam -ploTS and
har7este1S, fewer people can supply the neces
saTy fC01; the second, because with raliro adj
and mammoth stores, fewer people can effect
exchange OF products; and the hrd, because
with Increasing Intelligence and morality, man
Will have less need OF lawyers; and With better
knowledge OF the laws OF health, less need of
Gcct0Is; the mechanics and manufacturers viii
eontlnue to grow relatively ia number, for the
comfort OF the world has just begun. In many
a thu:ssSan0 ears there Will not be enough we'll
built, well Tfntflated and beautiful houses to
shelter eyer< body. or enough tasteful furniture
to put into them; or enough soft and elastic
fabr.cS to clothe everybody. Indeed there Is
10 limit 10 what may be done some OF these
days in way OF human comfort. Ii what +
now 'S9ciolOgy" should become siSo;iia,,
Science" and men should learn how to DIS
tiibute the proceeds OF labor 50 that all may DE
benefited, astonishing progress VIII be made
towards finishing up the world and making II a
garden OF Paradise. And the world will owe
most OF this progress TO the Wide spread OF
mechanical knowledge.
ADVANCE IN MECHANICAL KNOWLEDGE.
In my time-and can look back over more
than half century, the half century OF the
grandest achievements Of the human race, par
ticulary la the United States-there has been
wonderful improvement in the accuracy ana
extent Of mechanical knowledge. l can re-
member when there were neither railroads nor
toip Uh pa0nh.