The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-11-11
TEAcHING:cHILDREN TO VOTE.
The Scholars Take Lesson in The Me-
thod Of Esa1loting.
SNeW York Recorder


There were over 5000 votes cast yes
terday in the twenty-five industrial
schools Of the Children's Aid Society in
this city, and, although the voters were
carefully watched, nota single vote was
challenged. The Children's Aid So
ciety have adopted an entirely new
plan of familiarizing the rising genera
tion with the use of the ballot. About
one-half of the children who attend
these schools are foreigners and one
third of them are from countries where
the English language is not spoken.
The movement was started about
three weeks ago and Superintendent
George T. Balch visited each school
and explained something about the
duties of citizens in regard to the ballot
and told the boys and girls that they
were to beg1ven a chance to vote on
-ehe great question::
''Shall this school salute the ma
tons flag every day at the morning
eXercises?'
The day fixed for the casting of the
ballot was November ,, and the child
rem have been anxiously awaiting the
day when they should cast their first
ballot. The questions that the teachers
have had to answer about the way to
vote and what the littler ones would
have to do would have driven Tam
many heeler dizzy. Yesterday at II a.
IN. the following order of exercises was
carried out in all the schools.
"a little girl or boy, as might be Sc
lected, stood in front of the whole class
with new silk flag, and at a signal
from the teacher the scholars got up
ard sang in unison: 1--WE give our
heads and our hearts to our country.
One country! One Language! One flag"
The flag bearer dipped the flag three
times and the scholars touched their
heads and their hearts with the right
hand as they repeated the salutation.
Then they all sang the "Red, White
and Blue" with will and got ready to
cast their ballots.
The ballots Were all in small enve-
lopes, and the privilege of folding the
ballots and putting them in the enve-
lopes had been given to the boy and
girl who had been the best little citi-
zens in their class on the preceding
day. Some ballots had been given out
last Friday so that the children might
take them to their homes and read |
them to their parents. On the face of |
the ballot was Eyes" and NO" "and the |
child was to strike out the one that
it did not want to vote. The children
had been drilled in thesuperintendent's
address and were expected to have
committed the following to memory
before casting their ballots:
The country in which I live, and
which is my country, is called repub-
lie. In republic the peopIe. govern.
The people who govern are called citi-
zens. The way the citizens govern is
either by voting for the person whom
they wantto represent them, or who
will say what the people want him to !
say, or by voting for that thing they
would like tc do or against that thing
they do not want to do. The citizen |
who votes is called voter or an elector
and the right of votingis called the s
suffrage: The voter puts on piece of
paper what he wants. ii
The piece of paper is called ballot. t
This piece OF paper is my ballot. The
light of a citizen to vote, the right to
ay what the citizen thinks is best for '
,iraselfand all the rest of the people,
he right to say who shall govern US t
md make laws foc US, is great privi- F
ege, sacred trust, a very great respon- Il
ibility, which I must learn to exercise s
onscientiously and to the best Of my II
knowledge and ability as little citi- "
en- OF this great American republic" p
Two judges of election were selected G.
rom the scholars, the name of each Isl
hild was called by the principal from tt
be register. The little ones walked up y
the box, gave the envelope to the OF
ldge Of election and watched until it CT
,as dropped in the box before returning te
their seats. The election resulted in | bl
le unanimous decision that the child sI
'n desire to salute the American flag
very dsy at the morning exercises in er
ach school. T.
4.