The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-05
AS SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS.
A VARIETY or SOUND IDEAS on An
EVER IMPORTANT QUESTION.

Toilettes Make the Town RespIend-
ent-why Men Hiding business
Troubles Have Young and Light
Hearted Wivcs-BeautifuI Bonnet
Pins-Bab Yearns TO Give One 20
Her Cars Collector
New York. May 4.-The feminine part
OF the town is drunk with color This in
ebriation is best seen on clear afternoon
when all the womankind of New York ca
vorts along the street and exhibits its
newest frock and bonnet. From the lady
who rules the kitchen and who. Il being
her Thursday afternoon out, wears a pale
lavender hat, heavy with pink feathers,
and gay with blue roses clear to Madem-
oiselle We're de We're. who lives in pal
ace on Fifth avenue, and wears a small
bonnet OF sunburnt straw with a bunch
of mignonette on one side and a high
cluster of violets on the other, there is a
yearning after color that is more than
marvellous. The law seems 10 be sim
plicity from the waist down, richness from
the waist up. And so Mademoiselle We're
de We're wears a black crepon skirt that
measures eight yards around the bot
tom and flares so that il suggests a master
hand in the making. while her bodice is
the Stuart plaid in velvet decorated with
lace collar and cuffs and huge emer-
aid button set around with rhnestones
and her bonnet glows and glistens with
color and spangles such as a few years
ago were only dedicated 10 the stage. I
think / like ton the other woman. II
makes the streets look bright and pretty.
1t suggests good times coming and much
money spent at present.
What a lot of money American women
do spendl And how good American men
are TO give 1t to them! i consider for my
own part that the American husband is
Jewel. Nine times out of ten he keeps his
troubles TO himself, only telling his wife
about them when they are over Nine
times out of ten he gives her the lions
share of the money he makes and never
times out Of ten he thinks she Is about the
best In the woman line that can be gotten.
II he were an Englishman, he would tell
her his troubles and expect her TO help
bear them. II he were a Frenchman, he
would count on her taking care of the
money, expect her TO economic and start
a bank account. And. AZ he were an Itai-
| ian, he would have that contempt for her
which the sons of Italy do have for women
| in general as well as for woman In partie-
ular. So the American husband Is a
something much to be desired
II would seem as II they were apprecia-
! ted judging from the splurge that Is made
when they are first gotten. and yet how
unirnpofsant a man Il at a wedding. He
| hasn't even the value of a corpse at fu-
| neral-he isn't the center of attraction.
| The bride, her gown and vail, the way
she walks. the arrangement OF her hair,
and the beauty Of her Jewels are all dis
| cussed; then the bridesmaids are admired,
| the ushers are commented upon, and last
| of all somebody says, Did you happen to
| notice the bridegroom" And all the
women who cried at the wedding forgot
him. 1t seems queer, don't IT.? But wom-
ankind is overwhelming everything nowa-
days; In some respects that is as II should
be. / like the influence of women to be
far reaching and compelling, although /
am positive ant-suffragist. ] consider
that men were made to represent the state
for woman. She has a sufficient number
of responsibilities without longing for n
vote, which would be another one. There
are the afternoon teas the babies God
bless themD Jacks dinner, all Of ones
friends, the superintendent of the kitchen
which Is beyond the power of man, ana
So with all these weights OIL her shout
ders, why should a woman want to vote?
/ do believe in putting women on the
school commission board-I would like
to be a commissioner myself-for women
are needed to stem the oyereducation of
children. Women are needed to look af-
ter the bad air, the high flights of stairs,
and the thoughtess treatment Of the lit
tie people who are the men and women
of the next generation. A long time ago,
when a child went to school, II arrived
at 8 O'clock stayed until ~, then had
two hours for luncheon and play, went
back at o'clock, stayed until A. and
the greater part Of the afternoon was de-
voted to study. Then children knew less
about geometry and more about the null
tiplication table; were short on chemistry
and long on spelling; we've good clear
writers, but knew very little about the
legal position of the ancient Assyrians;
could read we'll, but never heard OF the
Coptics as aesthetics. were healthier AMI
not so desperately knowing that they
were impudent. Sometimes, nowadays
] see a child get into street car car
rying eight or ten books. In color this
child 1t pale to ghastliness; she is thin,
invariably wears eyeglasses, and is the
result of the overeducation In the public
school board to convince some Of the
commissioners that the free schools teach
too much, and don't teach 1t well.
| would throw away the geometries
| would set fire to the Algebras the
books about the Assyrians should have
pictures pasted on them, and l would
fetch in their places good spelling books
good arithmetics and good Biographies
Then ! would have teacher of writing
who would make our boys and girls write
80 their letters could be read and I would
have another teacher who would instruct
them in the lost art of composing a let
ter And then, too, would have all the
studying done at the school, so that when
those hours were over the small people
could play and be happy, drink In the
fresh air and grow strong, eat well and
go to bed early, instead of staying up late
to study their lessons. Then every tired
mother would not have to say, when she
was asked as to her WEAKNESS: We'll /
her lessons for tomorrow" "Teachine
Mary her lessons for tomorrow should
be the work ae school, but / suppose ii Is
shrked because il is much easier to hear
Mary her lessons than to beat them into
her poor tired head, aching from the bad
air In the schoolroom and the long hours
of confinement. Then, too If / were on a
school board l should allow no scholar to
come free whose people had sufficient
money to pay for its education. The public
schools were founded. / have always un-
derstood, for those people who could not
afford to send their children to pay schools
and YET wish them to be prepared to 20
into the world of business; that is to be
able to figure correctly, to write clear
ly, and to know whether Cleveland was
the capital Of Pennsylvania, or Richmond
in California. 1 have always been under
the impression that those people who wish
ed to fit their children for the world Of LETT
ters should pay for 1t, and that the boy
who had to leave school when he was 10
years old to take a position in an office
or shop was properly fitted by educa-
tion in the free schools, fitted for 1t by
his knowledge of three RS.
The precocious girl of 10. who stands
high in geometry, and who. parrot-like re-
peats pages Of history when the board Wis
its the school, is unable nine times out of
ten, to write a decent letter-and when /