Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1899-11-04

One of the late discoveries men have
made, or are now making, is the futility
Of large part of the work that has
been carried on for the reformation OF
"the bad." by "the bad" Is meant that
stratum Of society called by Gen. Booth
the submerged tenth" lf we compare
the means and efforts which have been
used In this enterprise with the actual |
results, we are painfully impressed
with the disparity between them. IRE |
form" has been fascinating watch
word, but we are beginning to suspect |
that 1t hides big fallacy and mistake. |
The effect of all the energy put forth on |
the submerged tenth" by churches and |
innumerable reform societies is pitiful- |
ly small. save rs 1t has educated people
to think seriously on practical moral
problems. Only the fringes of what
has been called the ''rubbish-heap" are
touched. Modern psychology Is making |
clear that, after adolescence is past,
little can be done to change radical
moral tendency In human character.
The incompetent, the drunken, the vi.
cious and the criminal Of adult age are
seldom reformed. Many seeming refor-
nations are unreal. while the few rea!
refOrmntions In adult life, II their his
tory were accurately known, would be
seen to be the result Of influences act.
ing upon the nature before adolescence.
"The bad are recruited from the era
die" Most psychologists put the de.
termination Of dominant tendency be.
tween birth and fourteen years Of age.
Some put the outer limit at seven years
of age. An ounce Of formation Is worth
u ton of reformation. Reformation IL
beginning at the wrong end. Childhood
holds the key to the salvation Of the
world. Save one generation Of children
and you Immensely simplify and re.
duce the problem Of dealing with 1.-The
bad"
The man who Is said to have been
just died. lie outlived the swlndling
device Of which lie was the inventor.
A quarter Of a century ago the three.
card monte men were rpaping harvests.
They infested every railroad train. ana
they gullcd both saints and sinners.
They took full advantage of the spirit
of dishonesty and cOvetOusness which
turks In the breasts of 40 many meT
But In the course of time the most
ignorant had heard Of the little game,
and II ceased to be profitable. 1t went
tho way of the tricks of nn earlier
pcrlOdOf the poc,ethook. dropping
game and the ring game. After tens
of thousands of simpletons had picked
up pocketbooks which seemed to be
stuffed with bank notes and. had paid
sharp confidence operators large sums
as their share of the supposed find.
even the most innocent refused TO be
taken In. The lightning rod man Inns
hnd his day. Nobody can he induced
now to buy Bohemian oats" While
no many swindlcs have hOurislied ana
then decayed, because everybody be-
came familiar with them. there are
two which. though venerable. yet live.
Tie gold brick Industry survives.
though In n sickly state. The "green
goods" man continues to make money.
In spite Of repeated exposures of his
rescality. There IRE still people who
, believe counterfeit notes IRE made
, which cannot be distinguished from
. the genuine notes. and tllnt the manu-
facturers will sell them for few cents
. on the dollar. The eagcrness OF those
} individuals to make money dishonest
~ hlndcrs them from realizing the
. transparent falslty Of the tempting
story.
The most glnring defect of our pub.
. lie school system has been its tendency
, to convert children into mere n,emOrlz
Ing machines. The brain OF the child
. has been regarded rs human hopper
I into which Is daily poured Il steady
stream Of poorly assorted facts, u large
per cent. Of which are 10 lacking In
the elements OF interest that appeal tc
a child that they are never retained
and would bc useless II they were. In
. the whole range OF the public school
. curriculum there IL scarcely anything
a outside OF drawing, to stimulate thu
, creative or Originative faculty or Il
, inculcnte the habit of Independent,
thinking Even mathematics fails Il
|. draw out the constructive faculties OF
u boy. 1t IL true that geometry tend,
!, to develop the sense Of proportion
. but this Ii n study that IL reserved II
|, most places for the high school. and i
= IL fact that grade pupils are actually
= allowed to spend from seven to tel
!, years In many public schools before
they know n triangle from n parallelO
" !, gram. This In an age that calls FOL
: sharp development Of those faculties
that quickly perceive the relations he
> tween things. Drawing not only sup
plies Il training to this end, hut !
. teaches a child to think for himself ant
!, to express his thought In his work will
= !. bOldness ana originality. IL there an!
course In the public schools more valli
able than that which thus impels ,
: pupil to create for himself and to thinl
. for himself!
I According to the London Daily Mai
the British publishers are crying TO
copy" They say they cannot GO
q enough manuscripts to keep their press
a es going. 1t seems to he just the Othe
way In this country. The state of af
fairs in London seems to have beel
brought about by the publishers them
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