The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-10-03
Head and the Hand Must Go
Together.
HE'S A BETTER CITIZEN
The Man Who Can't Read but
Can Do Things.
Charges Intemperance Is Due
to Improper NOurishment.

school assembly room Thursday after
noon The principal speaker was Henry
y. Perky, president of the Dread school
Of domestic science at Worcester, Mass
There was a very large audience OF
local and visiting club women teachers
and students in the AUDITORIUM. anu
Mr.. Perky and the other speakers, Prof
J. N. Wilkinson and Mr.. c. A. Smith of
the Kansas State Normal school. We're
hibit of work of pupils in manual train
Ing at the Normal and in the grade
schools Of Topeka was made.
Mr.. Perky has a number of theories
Of his own that are more or less at va
Rance with accepted conventional opin-
ions. One is in regard to hereGity. He
said: I do not believe in this matter
Of heredity. think as DR.. Bushnell
says, that the child comes into the world
unhandicapped, and that all the handl-
cap that is on man today is the work
of man. What man really inheritS are
the habits of his father and his grand
father"
The speaker considers that the great
foe to temperance in this and other
countries is not the manufacture of in
toxicants, but the want of wholesome.
Well-cooked food. He said:
Il don't believe there is a drunkard
ever lived whose appetite for strong
drink was not first induced by impover-
tshed food, food that didn't nOurish the
body, leaving the nerves craving some
stimulant-and you all know what
mans convenient stimulant is. be-
lieve that so thoroughly, l have spoken
so often of the fact before intelligent
audiences. that I have never as yet had
the statement contradicted, and 1 want
to say to the good temperance workers
of Kansas, where you are interested in
this temperance subject, that if all the
money and energy you expend here were
given to true domestic science, to Il
through knowledge of the foot subject,
you would wipe out this desire which
prevails so generally thrOug bout the
country for strong drink.
Continuing he said: do you know
my good friends, where our educational
institutions are in error? 1t is because
they don't teach people how to do
things. That is our motto at Dread: We
learn to do by doing. We learn to work
with the hands because no brain was
ever developed as it should be without
the use of the hands-the trained hand
trains the brain. 1t is the law and it is
law we have nothing to do with max
ing, nor can we change it We must
earn our bread by the sweat of our
brow, and yet in this commercial age
everybody is trying to get hold of more
money so they will have nothing to do.
One of the good papers of this city l
have noticed since coming here, tells
you am gentleman of leisure. am
not so unfortunatel daughter and ap-
plausel. The greatest privilege God ever
conferred upon man was the right to
work, and the only trouble is that he
don't know how because he has not
beer taught-and there is where the
schools are to blame. Children are turn
ed cut of the schools in the east hun
dreds Of them, unable to get their live
lihOod. What does that kind of educa-
ton amount tor Again 1 saw fill a
mans head full of book knowledge,
without the knowledge how to use his
hands, ard he is a bad and dangerous
citizen. He wants to get his livelihood
by his wits. 1 was looking over the
question of the degree of illiteracy in
Kansas, and found it very low am
In
says anything good of the west pleases
me. (Applause) I said to myself, Now,
while the people of Kansas are proud
of the proposition that the degree of
hliteracy is so verv low. yet the man
that cannot read but who knows how to
do something we'll with his hands is
infinitely better citizen than the man
who is educated in the schools. with
nothing but book knowledge and who
knows not what to do with his hands
President Wilkinson of the State Nor
NAL school in his brief address gave a
sketch of the progress of manual training
of the last forty years in this country
Prior to that time, only few polytechnic
schools. like that of Troy, New York had
introduced the work. The Morrill, land
grant of 1862 provided for the teaching of
the agricultural and mechanical arts. The
Centennial Exposition did much to attrac CT
the attention of the entire country About
that time began the tendency to consider
work with tools as a means of training for
us own SAKE without regard TO the pro-
duction of valuable manufactured articles.
nor indeed, for the learning of a trade.
President Fairchild, then at the head Of
our State Agricultural college, was the
author of a paper read before the Ma
tional Educational association in 1880 urg-
ing that dexterity before skill should be
the purpose. The discussions at the To-
peka meeting of the same association in
1886 were the first extended presentations
of the subject of manual training in this
state. About that time began the general
introduction of manual training into city
public schools. Pittsburg, Kansas was
one of the first high schools in this state
to offer manual training. The State Nor
NAL schoolhad previously established a de-
partment for preparing teachers for this
work. President Wilkinson called atten-
ton to the exhibit that had been Sent
from Emporia for this meeting and Mr.
Q. J. Smith, now at the head of manual
training work in that institution reported
the conditions of the work. as he hat
seen it in visits to many of the cities, anc
told what is the aim of the work as it is
now being taught by him at Emporia.
W NJ Davidson. superintendent of the
Topeka schools made a short address at tn,
close of the afternoons programme which
was the most stirring and enthusias site o.
the afternoon. He spoke briefly of the d,
cision of the last meeting of the board o
education to submit a&proposition to tn,
vide for the manual training in the grad
and high schools and for the erection q
new buildings for, this purpose and to re
tons Of the ward and high schools.
A double quartette of women vocalists
including Mrs. John Kleinhans, Mrs. Franz
Thomas. Mrs. George Parkhurst. Mrs w
9. DiclSie. Mrs Frank Foster. Mrs M d
Henderson, Mrs Eugene Campbell an,
Mrs. l. G. Ferry. began the proerannae
Miss Irene Horner sang a soprano sol
very sweetly and Mrs. Charles s. Glee,
played a piano number
Reunion at Sedan.