The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-09-23
Superintendent Stetson's Travels
Through the Rural Districts.
MAINE SCHOOL TEACHERS VIII
READ THE NEWSPAPERS.
Secretary McKeen Doing the Fairs-How
the Agricultural Department Pub4lshes
Periodical-State Assessors Also
Among the Peripatitics.
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.]

ESPECIAL TO THE PRESS
Augusta, September 21.-State Superin-
tendent of Schools Stetson is still max
ing his journeys through the country IN
specting the schools. Mr.. Stetsons pur-
pose is to visit 200 schools in the country
districts. He has not included IN this
round of visits the village and city schools
Mr.. Stetson travels by team, using his
own horse and carriage, and SO far he
has visited about 16O schools. There IS
one thing you may say" said Mr. Stet-
son to PRESS correspondent. land
that is that thesschool teachers of Maine
read the newspapers have sent out
no notices of my Intentions, but with
one exception, all the teachers have been
expecting me. and some OF these teach
ers were in charge.of schools far removed
from cities and large towns l have
been in the habit of knocking at the
door and saying ito the teacher, II sup
pose you know who amp" and they in
variably reply, 'Ch, yes, you are Mr..
Stetson, the state superintendent AS
of course the great majority have never
seen me, can account for their KNOW
ledge only on the theory that they have
read of my coming in the papers. asked
the same question Of the young woman
who didn't know me, and she replied,
No, sir, I DON'T very emphaticaliy.
I told her that I was the clerk OF the
school department.. "
taEpG camera With MIN
on his pilgrimages and has taken pict-
ures of the best and the worst of the
schoolhouses he has found. Views OF
some of these will be incorporated in
his annual report. The fine houses will
be credited TO the towns where they are
situated, but the names OF the towns
owning the poorest specimens will charl-
there isya. tendency in the country towns
to / abandon the small and poor houses
and convey the pupils at the.expense OF
the town to the larger and better
schools. The little folks are thus more
comfortably housed and they get better
training as rule in the larger schools.
This week Mr.. Stetson has been through
Northern Cumberland and a part of York
counties. He found the schools there in
a good condition as rule. AT Naples
the war feeling has subsided and the
schools are apparently being satisfac-
torily conducted since the decision of the
Supreme Court in favor of Supervisor
Rounds.
Mr.. Stetson did not procure his Kodak
for the sole purpose of photgraphing the
best and worst of the states temples OF
learning, for he has seen much that is
beautiful in his trips around the state.
He is especially enthusiastic over the
lake scenery, glimpses of blue water re-
fecting the deeper blue and the white
of cloud fiecked sky and framed in the
green clad hills. There are such views
in Maine as Mr.. Stetson can testify,
which rival the views of the Scotch lochs
ands the Lakes of Killarney. Then
near the waysides scenes which reveal
the life and character of the people in
the remote sections of the state. There
was the picture made by an aged man
at his deyotions before a wayside shrine
in Aroostook. A man probably 80 years
of age, seated on stone before rude
wooden cross on which was picture of
the Virgin. Mr. Stetson saw the picture
as he drove around the bend in the
woods and it remains fixed in his mind
as he first saw it, for, as Mr.. Stetson
in his prayers that there was no ch ange
in his position and no consciousness of
the presence of another in. his strong and
beautiful face.
Superintendent Stetson is not the only
traveller among the state officials. Score
tary McKeen of the board of agriculture,
has recently, in the course of his official
duties, been "doing" the fairs: Mr.. Nc
KeenEsays the . festivals of the farmers
this year have been of more than ordl-
nary interest. All have been particularly
successful and most of them have been
blessed with good weather.
Mr. McKeen's office is in way quite
a publishing house. Newspaper readers
know that the department. of agriculture
issues bulletins from time to time but
few, except those interested in farm ing,
know that these bulletins are pamphlets
of 40 or 30 pagesfand have circulation
of 5000 copies. The contributions for
Mr.. McKeen's periodical are obtained
from corps of $50 correspondents in the
different towns of the state. To these
correspondents blanks are sent each
month asking certain questions, and
from the replies to these questions the
bulletin are made up. For intanoe, they
have been sending out the blanks for
next Bulletin which will be particularly
devoted to crops and fruits. The CORE
spondents are asked to answer questions
as follows:
My dear sir:
..i"The replies of our correspondents to
the questions for our Fertilizer number
and the remarks given on the important
question of feeding our soils are very val
uahle and we wish to ospecially thank