The Portland daily press., 1898-12-22

somethins,, fits man ior tne business of
life. Pho uneduoated man may be able
to do one thing well. but take that away
from him and he is at loss. The
educated man can turn his hand to many
things. 1t is said that Harvard graduates
are conductors in Boston electric cars.
Very likely, and they will serve in that
capacity only until they can find some
thing better.
MIR. Metcalf made some severe comment
on the multiplicity OF studies in the pub
lie school of todsy. He was inclined to
agree with President Eliot who thinks it
may be necessary to resort to the election
system in the lower schools. In the old
days, when a boy declared INA don't
want me to study no grammar. that boy
did not study grammar. There is too
much reaching in the public schools, the
| teacher often doing the work which the
puuil should do for himself. Then MIR.
Metcaf turned to the bright idea of the
nicture and told of the value of modern
methods of teaching gymnastics and the
success of manual training and instruc-
ton in cooking and sewing. He would
draw no comparison between the old
school and the new. Each did its best.
The future school would better than
either.
Then Uncle Scion was introduced and
in the course of his remarks said in sub
stance:
My Schoolmarm friends; / am glad to
see you. Without doubt you have come to
the conclusion that / am not the hand
somest man in the world, but a woman
who heard me make a speech years ago
| said I was not half as bad as looked. I
am not here as an expert. come to talk
| good, easy, common sense. I remember
that here in Augusta I once met my life
long friend James G. Blaine at time
when we had both been discussing
national issues, though not from the
same side. Mr.. Blaine in introducing me
| to his friends said: ssUncle Scion Is all
right, only little eccentric" replied
| that common sense was SO scarce that it
was often mistaken for eceentricity. Your
small pupils will catch onto common
sense mixed up with gentleness quicker
than they can learn the multiplication
table. In the olden times, the pupils in
the schools learned the three RS and spelt
all the hard words in the spelling books.
The little red school house was barn
like structure with plenty of port holes
for the fresh air to blow through. The
improvement in the schools shows the
forward trend Of civilization. The school
of today is not perfect, but it is better
than that of yesterday and it will be bet
ter tomorrow than IL is today. So long
MS the schools improve SO long will the
star of civilization rise. Time was when
the church was content to let Satan rule
supreme on this earth and Christians
ha d to hunt for Heaven in the world to
come. Time was when we talked of
fighting England. Now they say John
Bull and Uncle Sam are going cunning
together. In the next hundred years the
nations are going to disarm and then
warships may be used to take school
children ON excursions The ostrich is a
philosopher. He sticks his head in the
sand SO he cannot see the deyiltry going
on around him, We don't realize the i'm
proyement that is going on around us
The ostrich sees the promise of the future
with his minds eye. 1t is better for the
school children to build castles in Spain
than to throw stones at the school house
windows. But it is said that so many
things are grated on the rural schools
that the boys will not stay on the old
farm. Well, there arsy farms in Maine
where white men ought not TO stay. The
boys go out into the world and succeed.
Here in Maine we raise school marms,
congressman and governors and keep
supply on hand to meet the ever increas-
| ing demand. When ex-Gov. Merrill of
| Iowa returned to Chase's Mills, his native
town, ono of the neighbours wives said:
| "Why Sam. how you've growed, That
| might not have been right according to
Lindley Murray, but it expressed lot.
| If Sam had staid at home keeping the
bushes down and the buildings up, he
would never have been governor. Here in
Maine we don't elect governor for near
| ly two years and already there are forty
| MEN scrambIipg for it, and they can't
| all get there. The babe is born a savage
The mother and the schoolmarm hold his
future veal or woe. Steam and lightning
have made all nations neighhors and
there ought to be peace and good will on
earth but the great men of today are
studying how to kill facts and at longer
range. If nations would keep the peace
what a schoolmarm's heaven there would
be IN 1875. 1t costs $1,000 to fire one of our
big guns. The money would build two
rural school houses. We pour out money
| like water for ships and guns yet there
are 10, 900 children in New York city de-
| prived of school privileges. Wrong doing
| is winked at until it becomes monster
so great that it must be conquered at the
cannon's mouth. Then comes war for
humanity's sake. If the babe born a
hundred years ago was educated in the
heart as he was in the head there would
be no war today. When civilized nation
live at peace they can convert the heather
j