The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-24

work quite broke him down, and two
weeks ago he went away for "a much
needed rest"
However, it is not expression but So
GEOLOGY, that has furnished the real dis
coveries People have long wondered
why ladies persist in wearing birds upon
their hats. What a world of sentiment
has been poured out touching the merci-
less slaughter of innocent birds, but the
custom has not changed favorably at all.
Prof. Vincent accepts the initiative the
DRY, and holds that a desire to initiate
their social betters leads women to per-
sist in the practice Like most scientists,
however, he fails to make clear the ulti-
mate truth, why do the social betters''
wear slaughtered birds upon their hats?
Here is another disappointing exhibition
of scientific limitations. but we really
feel that the good professor did not go
back far enough In the story of the
tree life of the race he would surely
have found something more definite than
he finally offered. But 1 suppose his de-
sire to be accurate made him overcau-
tious.
The other discovery was by our good
friend, Prof Zenblin, who announces
with almost absolute certainty that men
who wear a high hat do so to give the
impression of leisure. The professor does
not make clear the scientific facts iusti-
flying his discovery, but nevertheless he is
satisfied that he is right, and hereafter we
may with much certainty know what Of
ncials we can approach with some per
sonal matters. 1t is to be hoped that
members of the board of education will
hereafter adopt the high hat With
what patience and earnestness these
learned men work in the interests of
their fellow meni
THE SCHOOL BOARD.
A good idea may be formed of the
magnitude of the work here in the schools
by an examination of the school budget
which was promulgated by the board at
a meeting held on the Goth inst. The TO-
tai amount appropriated is $40, go.
Teachers have their wages advanced to
some extent, but the schedule of 1858 is
ignored, and no provision is made for
the loss of two weeks last year There
is much dissatisfaction among the NOM
bers of the federation, but doubtless the
board felt that it could go 20 farther
One important change is the ord or for
free text books in the four grades of the
primary departments. Evidently a Ia
jority of the members was at first OPP
posed to the proposition, but in Difference
to an earnest appeal by Supt Cooley 1t
finally carried One statement made by
the superintendent will occasion SUI
J prise: Fifty per cent of the children
of Chicago leave school at the end Of
the fourth year, and these grades are
more important than the high schools"
1t seems incredible that so per cent of
the school population of any city fails
to go beyond the fourth year. aud if this
be true, citizens may well inquire wneth-
er such an enormous outlay Is necessary
for such limited work Why he speaks
of these grades as being more important
I than the high schools must occasion some
conjecture also. 1t is not necessary. to
say of a house that the foundation is
more important than the roof, both being
Indispensable to the building. A roof
without supporting walls and foundation
is of little value, and the foundation
without the other portions of a complete
structure serves no good purpose. 1t is
idle to speak of the primary school work
as an education, nor is the system COM
plete without both primary and high
school work.
Considering the enormous appropriation
for school purposes and the grievious
complaints made against the schools as
managed. we can but ask, have not the
taxpayers a right to complain? Consid-
ering interests involved parents have far
more cause of complaint than the tax
payers. However large the appropriate
tion and however great the actual de-
ficiency, the. schools undoubtedly pay for
themselves many times over, but are the
schools really so bad as they are pic
tnred? Being a teacher myself and
therefore ION the inside" I confess to
fear that I cannot truly represent an
Outside opinion" Our optimistic friends
frequently set about telling us of the
wonderful growth of everything good
anG desirable during the past fifty years
and there are some who will yet attempt
to beguile an audience with stories of
conditions forty wears tT1o
test the true comparison lies between
conditions as they actually are, and as,
under all favoring conditions, they
should be at the present time, and look
ing at the situation in this light we
have felt that probable grounds exist for
complaints so strongly and so frequent
ly uttered, but even with that concession
many things must be considered The
exploitation of the public schools for
commercial or personal reasons has been
exceedingly harmful but ii has been
encouraged by some who now vocifer-
ously complain of imperfections Worse
than idle experimentation with children
for the avowed object approving some
novel theory has also had some effect,
but this has been forced upon unwilling
teachers sometimes by what they We're
led to believe was public sentiment of
the community. The very commendable
desire of teachers to appear thoroughly
AihbuSI Will CI1G spirit Vi the tunes mas
caused them to wander about in Sloughs
OF difficulty without the necessary light
to lead their pupils and yet there are by
no means the chief difficulties but
among these by no means the least is
the persistence of book houses in forcing
upon public attention d multitude of
books that are most attractive but IN
necessary, often misleading and always
burden to parents.
In the schools of Germany, France and
England no cause for complaints such
as these exists. In the schools of those
countries it is known exactly what a
stated amount within a given time will
do for a normal child. Who has seen in
foreign paper such criticisms as are di-
rected against our schools? Who has
heard such complaints from business
men in foreign lands? And yet the Amer
lean boy or girl has no intellectual SUI
nerior in the world.
ther consideration, at least for a time
Tor 1 fear the G o + e readers are be-
ginning to grow tired of it, I repeat
what 7 have so many times heretofore
asserted, that the difficulty lies in a fail
ure to form right habits of action found
ed upon sterling principle. The child is
| incapable of independent or unaided right
action 1t is we'll enough to say that the
child should acquire unconseiously a
love of law and order" but suppose he
will not, then suitable repression or CO.
ercion of some kind must assist. Al
though the child acquires unconsciouslv
very often, the instructor must direct the
training, and with some force and en-
ergy. There should be seriousness and
sincerity in the treatment of his daily
duties bV the nupil Manv ma rims ord