The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-08
THE HERO OF OUR
COMMON SCHOOLS
An Eloquent Estimate of the Public Ser.
vices Of Horace Mann.
HE WAS OUR GREATEST EDUCATOR
Such Is the Opinion Of Colonel Fran.
els w. Parker, Who Considers That
Mann Ranks Next to Washington
and Lincoln Among the Benefac.
tors Of America.

Heeu " HIIlll tHe CoiiSiueidlioI VI hio
instructive career to that special day.
Hence we offer no apology for the pres
ent reproduction OF the eloquent est-
mate of Manns public services which
Colonel Francis w. Parker Chicago's
noted educator, recently contributed TO
the Times-Herald. Colonel Parker
said:
1t would be diffcult to find a child lO
years of age In our 65,OOO,VO who does
not know of Abraham Lincoln or George
Washington; but the third, at least, on
the list of the builders OF the American
republic Is not known to millions or
intelligent people. washington and
Lincoln represent the highest types or
heroism, patriotism and wisdom III
crises of republic building; Horace
Mann, the quiet inner buildings the soul
development or the nation,
This hero of the common schools was
born May 4, 1876, in the little town or
FRANKLIN, Mass. HIS early lie Is OF the
type or the lie or thousands or boys IN
New england, who' by their honesty OF
purpose, enterprise ana uhiiasslng en-
ersy' nave zone so inuch ior this couh-
try Born an poor iarm' "here nara
work was the prime necessity Oh liVihs'
lie kheW wha' ''ie s'iuss'e ioi existence
Win 'ie parre'i SUI 49, iron' '''e 'i'''e iie
couio hahule noe or rue d hoise u
PioW. Haru "oih was MS sc"oo'"'is
.er' 'heie was very h''ie p'eaeu'e "po''
''oSe pieah iaii'iS'
norh ,hlr'ee' years ai,ei 'ne .'ose vi
'ie reNoiu'iol'' ne ilearu ouriiis 'he iohs
winter eVehlnss ''e "'o soiu'ers nIou'lu
,ne hresioe te'iins vi ien n'"s .oli' ounNe'
mn Iei,'iins ION anu iolh'oWn.
',io'isi'' !" 'iiose uaS was a, .n'enSi'S
VI ieeiins' srea. p'iue III WHAT 'n' en-
oa''ieu iuii'ieis hau uo"e' sl,a' "e'' ~
prr mp ua'e ''ieii s''.i GU VIZ
mere was oiie soie'l,h' earnest ''iousi III
days; it was their inheritance; get
knowledge; knowledge is power. Inc
means OIL khoWieuge were eNceeuihsiy
meager. horace Mann hVeu III the
poorest dlstrlct IN very poor Town,
Where he hau put eight OF Ten Weehs
schooilhS III the WINTER uhuer teaeiie'S .
VINO had not even MASTERED 'ie thiee
KS. but the inspiration WIS the'e,
burning Ill MS SOUL ana "rou''u 'iie olo
nrepiace, py the hsnt OF tIe iiai'i'ls pune
KNOTS, ne STUDIED ms hrst arithmetic
his hrst lessons IN grammar. 1here
came INTO the town an eccentric teacher
named Barrett, VINO taught MN La'iil
and Greek ana IN SIX months he lttea
hinseii lor broWn uillVersi'y' "ui'n
ne entered IN 1915. Ills lalher uieu
Wheh tiorace Maih was 10 years VI a'
ana the entire WelSht OF tiie iuih,'y
suPpoi. ieii utoi h'''i' iie oi' an ~
work that tarih poyS uo' ne pra.ueu
mats during the iohs winter eNehiibs
When ne was not pornis over ms S.an'y
STOCK Oh DOCKS. hut .he t'''rS' ioi
khoWieuse was ,hele' anu d "eep "''u
ihs piiliio.isii ','a' cai,,e i'Ne d
wave ih'o MS sou' iro'' Tue re'oi"'''ii'
HIS COJJECE LIFE
.... .,,,,c. .oo,,
-, -. .,a ,,,;,,.o ,,,a
",s ,,a,,s ,e -, IT., tL,o,,e-h
omn os,,,.,,, -, ,o,o Tlar oa 90
.,,,o,os.s,;a,, l., .hosa a,,rs, woe tbot of tho
law, no uros called to b;s university TO
hooon,o a., tntor studv;po law dilipontlv
in tho meantime Ten wears after his
graduation he married Miss Messer, the
douobter of tho nresident of the uni
versitv He mt his stern. severe purit-
anicaj princinles into his work of law,
meyer taking a case unless he was sure
his client was right. and it is said of
him that he won most of his cases. He
entered notifies and was a member of
the general court in Massachusetts. In
1876 he was elected president of the state
These were formative days, the days
of BEGINNINGS The direction of Horace
Mann's work was always intensely hu-
name. He helped to found the first
asylum for the insane in Massachusetts.
He was among the first to oppose slav-
cry and to found schools for detectives.
We make a mistake if we think there
was, in the early days, a general idea
of universal education at the public ex-
pense. Although Massachusetts had
had schools for nearly two centuries,
the free school had been, to great de-
gree, a charity school the century over.
The country free school was simply an
economic means of educating the boys
and girls in the same school in the
cheapest possible way.
The cities. like Boston, had taken
pattern from the schools of Eton,
Harrow and Rugby, in England. There
was not the least suspicion of a science
of education, or an art of teaching, and
there Were no geherai proposi.ioils u
,".. ,oa,,oa ,uo,, as, o,,orit,, sobon,s
;,,.i, % a,I ~ ohi,dray Of Mo-,
,.... t., ,oo- ,,,o,,o In ,a,db,,ios,