Evening star., 1897-02-19

body and the laws CT health are proved, be-
yond all question, to be one.
There is a direct relation of a proper
system of physical culture to character
The fundamental principle in a perfect sys-
tenn is this That the ideal body Is the
servant of the SOUL and was made with its
complex structure to obey its mandates;
and that a system of physical culture
which does not teach this is not a proper
system. Some people call every kind of
artificial exercise physical culture. Now,
Ill forms of exercises are not exercises in
physical culture. Nothing can be said to be
true physical culture which does not rec
ogniZe theoretically and practically this
principle, that the body is the servant of
the soul, and, therefore, if one would know
the proper of the body and how it
should be educated she must know the pur-
poses of the soul. Physical culture leads to
the study of morals; to the study of man
as n spiritual being: to the study of the
possibilities of the soul: and the proper
study of the soul leads to this conclusion,
that the chief end of every one in this
world is to influence others by preceDt and
by example toward higher states of being.
a study of physical culture which does not
recognize the high mission of man to man
and the high relation of man to God is not
a proper system of physical culture"
At the conclusion Of Miss Kings paper
she was called upon for a recitation. She
responded. giving in capital style Ella
Wheeler Wilcox's poem, You never can
tell"
Character Building versus Education"
was the theme Of a thoughtful paper by
Mrs Ellen Richardson of Massachusetts.
The address paid tributes of respect to
DR. j. II. Buchanon, to DR.. c. Wesley Emer-
son of Boston, to DIR. VIM. T. Harris. Unit
ed States commissioner Of education; to
Mrs. Phebe Hearst for her philanthropic
work for kindergartens, to the manual
training schools and other persons and
| forces, all of which, it was claimed, were
| bringing about the dawn of an education,
wherein soul development would replace the
systems which had tended almost exclusive
Iy toward intellectual development and
mere faculty growth, in place of the build
| ing of character in the divine mission of
service. 90
| Education for the purpose of originality
| of thought, thought bold clear, grand and
| beneficent, was shown to be the primary
step, The secondary step must nave clear
| ly before the mind the end of education,
| the mission of character In the world which
| was stated to be service for the good or the
| whole. kindergarten, the science of an
! thropology and manual training were placed
before the audience as necessary elemen-
| tary steps in character development.
The point of anxiety in the progress of
i the new education was shown to be when
| the pupil leaves the kindergarten at the
age of about seven, presumably to enter
| higher grades, which are however. Of a
| lower plane, because then reality is taken
| out of education, and signs are substituted.
Character, which has begun to unfold so
| successfully In the kindergarten, loses here
| the real sentiment Of feeling and becomes
| the intellectual rnanipulator of signs only,
| which may or may not inspire thought;
more often they do not.
/ The mission of the educator was shown
| to be, to awaken the soul to q knowledge
| and use Of its own powers. that 1t should
| attain to the highest success of life's uses
| iE the world.
The responsibility Of motherhood and
educators was placed equally upon each
| and the commonwealth of the United
States because its Constitution assumes
the charge Of the education of its people
/ Reference was made to the solemn trust
accepted by the executive board of the
! United Ststes government from George