The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-02-25

PAOuuCo IHe ldluOuS SUrdSDurS
pdteS de fOie grGS, luckless geese are
smut up in coops, SO small that the
birds can neither turn, nor flap their
wings, nor even preen the feathers.
Several times a day each unhappy
goose is forced full of food by a feed
ing machine. The result of this CON
centratiOn of effort upon one organ is
very quickly seen. In two weeks a
large, sturdy bird is reduced to foul
and living skeleton; but the desired
effect has been produced upon the
liver, which now weighs two to three
pounds.
is there not something akin to this
in the methods applied to children
by NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., and tacitly APP
proved of by indifferent parents?
Without thought of a child being
possessed of any other organ beside a
brain, and any other function beyond
the requirement of facts, and any
other responsibility apart from earn
ing living, the little creature is
stuffed with instruction-not educa-
ton in it's best sense-until its limbs
jerk from over-strained nerves. 4
sure proof OF the actual damage of
such teaining both to the child and
to the community is found in the fact
stated by Forbes Winslow, the famous
authority on the brain, that infant
prOdigies seldom do well in after life.
because of Over-development in one
direction and neglect of training in
another, the result being that they
are easily led away by temptation and
often go to the bad" when thrown
on their own resources. All thinkers
most fully acknowledge the need of
brain-culture Us a means of broaden
ing the life and enabling the individ-
ual to acquire a consciousness Of other
things beyond those that he can
touch and taste and handle in his
own neighbOrhoOd For instance:
w lsllpbl itlN lIONNt W lNGtNis OuI lives
are apt to remain as narrow as those
of savages. But it is a mere dream to
suppose that knowledge of all the
rivers of all the continents, with
length, breadth and characteristics.
will deter little pilfering fingers from
taking another scholars lunch. You
.pof IND fl,ilI fl,rpt,prl %
arithmetic and over mountains of
spelling; you may whirl it through
the universe till its knowledge is mar
velOus to relate, but all such brain
development will not save your sweet
little girl from the corruption of the
boy with unrestrained passions.
Where is the uplifting power of vul-
gar fractions or the heart-training in
repeating the bounds of the Mediter-
raneOn sea? Though we speak with
the tongues of savants, and treasure
facts like the miser treasureth gold;
though we compass all knowledge so
that we can name the stars in their
courses and the strata in their order,
yet without judgment we are moth
ing. And judgment cOmeth not by
knowledge forced into the brain and
appealing only to memory. Judg-
ment and conscientious conduct are
part of the heritage of the race, in
herited and capable of development in
each normal child. They are strength
ened by the playground and the
home, by the personal influence of
the teacher and the parent; so that
any who think duty to the child COM
p!eted by books alone are cruel to the
child and traitors to the race Far
be it from me to belittle the brain,
for by it's powers the material prog
ress Of the world has reached its pres
ent height; and far be it from anyone
else to belittle the heart with its
social instincts, and the character
with its fateful powers. Mental giants
are capable of being moral dwarfs,
and possibly tiends. The very forcing
to which they have been subjected
hides, binders, even destroys their
better capabilities of usefulness of
brain and honor of conduct.
Be not deceived; Nature is not
mockedl The different elements of
our being-body, mind and spirit
have to be trained up together. Each
child has the tendency within it to
slip back to wild, untrammeled de-
fiance of the things that are right,
unless all sorts of influences are
brought to bear upon it. With it and
with us as with the universe there is
no such thing as standing still. We
are either moving forward physically,
mentally and morally or we are slip
ping backward. So by neglect of
proper means of education, and proper
interest in your educators, you are
possibly helping to thrust the child
back to the starting point of your
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