The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-18
EFFECT OF MANUAL TRAINING.
Sermon by Rev. 4. A. Allen on It's
Relation to Nations Prosperity

sermon by Rev. r.. A. Allen on It's
Relation to 81 Nations Prosperity
Rev. E. A. Allen, pastor of the Sixth
Presby Church, yesterday took for his
morning subject Industrial Training" He
chose his text from Proverbs, the fourth
chapter and fifth verse, Get wisdom, get
understanding and forget it not After
explaining the difference between wisdom
and knowledge, and showing that the ulti-
mate purpose of the industrial school was
to teach wisdom, the minister gave a brief
history of industrial training in this country
showing that the experience of the past
has fully justified the hope of the most
sanguine.
Tomorrow will begin a new era" he
said, sin the history of the Indianapolis
schools. 1t is the opening of her training
school that marks new departure in edu-
cation. The magnificent buildings and ap-
paratus truly the pride of our city; and
1 believe that future generations will rise
up and call our Board of School Commits
sioners blessed, for their courage, their
progress and their comprehensiveness
They have gone forward at a cost of almost
a quarter of a million dollars in order to
give our city the latest and best in educa-
tonal matters.
"Now there are three great reasons for
the existence of an Industrial training
school, which l will briefly mention. Their
primary object is to give to our boys and
girls q symmetrical developement-to i'm
prove the body as well as the mind. In
the beginning of country such schools
were little needed The pioneers found de-
veiopement enough for the body and mind
in graphing with the outer forces of life
The Yankee, you know, had knack for
doing almost everything. And it is a sig
nificant fact that the great names that have
shed luster upon our history, have uniforms
ly been or the CLASS that thrO11Ch
the ro 95!S "a, and tumble Of Of, life They were
Ohio But as our country grows older and
our cities become larger, congestion takes
nate; they are weakly, delicate. bloodless.
Hence there comes the imperative need of
system bse t6 Of u az th that % bring out
the industrial training school will do.
My second great reason for the existence
of such a school is utility. Horace Greeley
used to say in his rough, Saxon way that
the graduates of Harvard College haven't
While this is cynical and too severe. there
is an element of truth in it. Too often our
scholars. manage. by. hook and crook, to
college only to find themselves helpless at
the end of their course They may be able
may know a smattering of science and his
tory, but they are exceedingly weak when
measured by the. side of the practically
trained man. 1t is a sorry fact that the
majority of the graduates of our High
School graduate without a purpose. How
often has the father and mother skimped
and managed by great self-sacrifice to get
their boy or girl through school, and then
when the graduation has taken place, and
the music has died away, and the flowers
have faded they look each other in the face
and ask: What can son or daughter dor And
the sad answer too often is, Nothing We
must waken to the needs of society. 1t
is shame that schools have not been
more practical; that our girls have not had
a knowledge of the common affairs of life
/ believe 1t would save many a domestic
broil perhaps many a divorce case, If our
girls had more domestic training and pride
This the industrial school purposes TO do
by fitting the boys and girls for those
duties with which they are TO come in con-
tact.
my third reason for the industrial school
is that it gives true dignity to labor. The
view that society has of manual labor is
most unfortunate and Is the primary cause
of a great deal of the labor trouble. Our
to become a kitchen girl; not because the
kitchen work is necessarily more difficult
but because Ii is looked on as servile. All
this will be reversed when society comes to
realize that Honor and fame from no con-
| dition rise; act we'll your part. there all the
excels in the manual duties of life is given
the highest place at graduation, 1t VIII have
| muc. 10 do to ameliordte the antagonistic
| views that now exist.
"Our greatest problem Is the education OF
| the masses. Our wealth has increased, but
| so has our poverty The march of civiliza-
| ton has also been the march of vice and
| crime The association of poverty with
| progress says Henry George. is the enigma
| OF our times In IL riddle which the
| sphinx Of faith puts to our civilization.