Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-01-26
Educate the Hands,

The question of establishing a manual
training school in Detroit is being agi
tated, and number of prominent citi-
zens have organized TO push the mat
ter. At meeting held recently to dis
cuss the question, Rev. G. Il. Hendcr-
son of the Woodward avenue Baptist
chur h, who has made quite a study
of the subject, sad: ''EXpericnce
ing school is not more exhaust
ny than the course in preparation
for college: that the exercise in the
sho is real recreation, and that if shop
work is offered to boys the ben hes will
be filled with volunteers. Manual
training is branch of LIBERAL culture
and should be placed on a level of hon
or and dignity equal to the Greek and
l. attn course, t creates powers or
dinally rejected, and makes the body
more completely the servant of the
soul. Therefore the msnual training
school is regarded by its advocates as
the most efficient adjunct of moral dis
ciplne. 1t gives rat onal employment
idle hands, and turns the from
mischief to the creation of useful and
beautiful objects. In England The
manual training school with It's logical
outgrowths is advocated ~ a Sceat
number OF men of science, education,
arts and manufactures as more
efficient means of meeting competition
in trade. The manual training school
is advocated as a most potent proven
tive OF costly crime aud paupersm
Giving millions in aims to a population
of unskilled laborers, is like pouring
water into bottomless abyss or Ike
irrigat.ng Il rock II we add immortality
to the abscn of skill in industry
giving an aims would be like irrigating
Canada thistles or other. noNious
weeds
The manual training school enlarges
the usefulness of the high school by
extending the Average time of attend
ance of children of the poor In the
| present arrangement edu at on almost
| always ceases ab ut the 18th year,
| just when the mind is most capable Of
receiving the direct preparation for
social studies OF h story and economy.
If shop is opened it will be part of the
preparation for actual bread winning.
and that without loss of time in literary
brrnches.
Manual training is already intro
duced into the state public school at
Coldwater and in the reform schools
at Lans and Adrian. 1t will be a
| pity if we fail to see that as a prevent
i've of crime it is far more ethcaciou
than the remedies for an evil force al
ready in full current.
The subject is at this hour before a
committee of the Board of Education
and will BIZ decided soon. There is
some reason to believe that il the cX-
pense of the experimental stage was
Lorne by private cnte prise, the board
would feel justified in furnishing the
room for the shop and such other help
as could he givoa by the present force OF
teachers without extra expense The
expen of starting the shop (according
10 figures furnished by President Smart
and Prof os,. of Purdue University
would be for shop about - 200, and
for special teacher one year $1,000
$500.
he High School would be the best
place for trial, because there are the
bright and promising lads who could
most Cuickly see the advantage Of such
methods.
'.ln st. Louis and Oh cago separate
schools have been founded by the men
of wealth This is far more costly and
not so good as connection with the
public school system, since it reache
fewer persons.
"If business men would petition the
Board of Education at this time tn,
action would have much weight. II
such a petit was accompanied by an
offer of sustaining the movement
through its exl erimental stages with a
subscri ton based on their acceptance
of the terms, it would lave much more
weight