Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1892-08-06
;. SATURDAY EVENING. AUGUST 8, 1892
COLUMBUS DAY, OCT.I2.
A Message to the Public Schools
of America.
LOCAL OBsERyANCEs SUGGESTED.

The Day should he signaIized In Every
Town and village In the Republic by
Local Celebration of Which the Pub.
lie School Is the Center.
To the scholars of the public schools
of the United States the executive COM
mittee of the Columbian public school
celebration sends the following mes
sage:
The 18th of October, 1892, the 400th
anniversary of the discovery of Amer
lea, ought TO be observed everywhere
In America.
The day will be marked in. Chicago
by the dedication of the Columbian ex-
position grounds. The day also may
be signalized in every town and village
in the republic by a local celebration of
which the public school is the center.
The public schools of the republic will
form the most fitting centers for all
these local celebrations. A national
public school observance simultaneous
with the Chicago exercises will awaken
a popular interest in the coming exposi-
ton. Far more important is the fact that
the public school has the right to occupy
the most prominent place in the celebra-
ton. The public school is the one charac-
teristic institution which links all the
neighborhoods together, and can thus
furnish common bond for q national
celebration. The public school is the
ripe fruit of the four centuries of Ameri-
~ ho ~
today sways the hundred years to come.
How 1t Came About.
The first approval of this suggestion
came from the public school scholars
themselves. When the plan was first
proposed by The Youths Companion,
January, 1891, thousands of letters were
received, testifying to the enthusiasm
with which the scholars responded.
The worlds congress auxiliary of the
Columbian exposition then took up the
proposal, calling upon all the people of
the republic to observe the day in their
own localities, and suggesting that the
public schools be everywhere the cen
ters of the celebration.
The superintendents of education
were the next to recognize the fitness of
giving to the public schools the first
place in this Columbian anniversary.
At their national convention in Brook
lyn in February, 1899, they took charge
of the movement, and appointed the
undersigned an executive committee to
lead the schools in their commemora-
ton.
Appeal to the Scholars.
This executive committee now appeals
to the scholars themselves to be the first
to move. 1t is for you, scholars of the
American public schools, to arouse q
sentiment in your schools and in your
neighborhoods for this grand way of
celebrating the finding of America. Ed
ucators and teachers will meet you from
their side. But it is for you to begin.
There are 13,000,000 now in the public
schools. You have the chance to con-
duct a patriotic movement which will
have place in history, and will strength
en- the republic through the coming CEN
tury.
What to Do.
The first thing to do is to determine,
when you read this message, that you
will do all you can to induce your school
to enter the celebration. Then show
this message to your teachers; every pa
triotic teacher will be glad to help you
if you show yourselves in earnest. Take
the message to the school committee and
the superintendent-their consent and
aid are indispensable.
After you secure the support of all
these, then let the school vote that it
will enter the celebration.
The next thing after this public vote
will be the appointment of a strong COM
mittee made up jointly from citizens,
scholars and teachers to take charge.
The committee should in all cases con-
sist of those most in earnest, so that the
work may not be checked by any posi-
BILE change of teachers during the sum-
mer.
The Programme.
A programme of exercises viii be
furnished by the executive committee.
It will be simple and adapted TO any
school, yet so arranged that more elabo-
rate exercises may be added wherever
desired. The aim of this official pro-
gramme viii be that certain leading ex-
ercises may be the same in every school
in the republic, and that at least in one
feature the Chicago programme and the
school programme may be identical.
In due time this executive committee
will make further suggestions.
The Local Committee.
The duty of your committee win first
be to interest the citizens and to prepare
the school. Professions may be arranged.
The veterans, both north and south, will
gladly be escorts for the schools. The
r4i,nr. MILITARY civic and ralininns or.