Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-02-23
EDUCATIONAL MATTERS.
Events of Interest in the Schools Dur
ing the Past Week"
Washington's Birthday Celebrated
Generally with Musical and Lit
erary Exercises-The Pern1clous
Influence of Trashy Literature
Among the Pupils.

AS Yesterday was the birthday OF the
Father of our Country, all the schools
commemorated the event with appro-
priate exercises on Friday afternoon
The exercises consisted of recitatons,
readings. essays and songs of a patrl-
otto nature. The life of George Wash
ington was reviewed from the cradle TO
the grave. The "hatchet story was re-
heated over and over again, not as
myth. but as a truth, and many boy
and girl receives from it an inspiration
for good that lasts through life. We
do not syspathize with those who wish
to make us believe that there was no
William Tell. that the story OF Damon
and Pythias was false. that Pocahontas
did not save the life of John Smith, and
above all. that George Washington ala
not cut the cherry tree. Too many
good things flow from these stories, 10
teach that they are not true. AS long
as the memory of George Washington
lives in the hearts of the American peo-
ple the Ratchet story will be told TO the
boys and girls, and they will believe IT.;
and believing it, there will be impiant-
ed a noble desire to be like Washing
ton in truthfulness. in manliness and IN
true patriotism. So mote it be-
A sample programme of the exercises
held througout the city schools is given
below. This is from Rooms and .
Jointly of Annex Building, Richie
school Others were just as good and
may have been better.
Song-America ............ .....
Recitation ....... Robbie Cunningham
Recitation Laura Knight
Recitation ............. John kalbltzer
Recitation .Decle Carotners
Song-Star Spangled Banner......
Recitation Lille Theby
Recitation August Miller
Exercises from No. I.
Washington ........ ......
Recitation ............ Blanche Speidel
Recitation ...............Ne Nellie lheDy
Recitation .......... Walter Brinkman
Song-Red. White and Blue.
Several other Rotations, closing
with the song Battle Hymn of the Re-
public"
Quite a number of visitors were at
both the main building and the annex.
A crying evil in our city and one that
is having It's effect on our schools is
the reading of trashy literature. We
fear that parents do not realize the eX-
tent TO which this is carried, and how
much harm it is doing our schools. Any
one who has made the subject a study
knows that it is impossible for child
TO make progress in its studies ard at
the same time read the kind Of litera-
ture that fairly floods our land to-day.
1t is an impossibility. Many Of our
pupils &c, from one TO three bcofs every
week fro~l Che Public Library when all
their time is required 10 prepare their
studies well. These books may in
themselves be Pll right. if the readers
were not pupils at school. but they can
not be read by pupils without doing
them an injury as lar as the advance
ment of their studies is concerned. But
many Of the children of our city, yes.
hundreds of them. are reading those
low trashy novels that are calculated
to ruin them morally. In short. TO de-
strOy their minds, and parents act as
though they were asleep TO the facts in
the case. The writer knows whereof
he speaks i'm this matter. and he also
knows that the faithful teachers in our
public schools realize the great harm
to our schools resulting from it. and
they are doing all they can to break it
up, but find themselves powerless to do
so without the cooperation OF the par
ents. Some one may ask: How can
this be helped?" We answer: Not by
iorce. but by leading the child TO ac-
quire taste for good" Tt'can be done;
and ii must be done to save our boys
from a curse that is destroying hun
dreds in our city every year.
This is a subject that ought to enlist
the energies of the philantropist every
where. The writer believes that it is
an evil. that is doing more harm to-day
in the way of running souls, than any
other one evil.
Waitman Barbe Field Agent OF the
West Virginia University, was an inter
ested visitor at Richie school on Fri
day afternoon last, and he gave the pu-
pills of the grammar room very in
teresting talk on the advantages of
having or securing a good education.
The pupils were much pleased and he
will be a welcome visitor, come when
he may. Mr. Barbe is surely the right
man in theright place as agent of the
University. He is aiding greatly in
filling its holes with students, and with
a class of students that will honor their
Alma Mater after finishing the course
many more will go there from Wheel
ing in the near future.