Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1903-08-14

much OF lCS Skill IN the constant
practice and the same is true of the
army but this training would be
futile were there not an intelligent
man behind hte gun. For this reason
the military power of this government
can be safely rated much higher than
its numerical strength would indicate.
AS the time for the opening Of the
public schools in various parts of the
country approaches, those who have
given the later courses of study and
methods of teaching some attention,
are disposed to attack both on the
grounds that the children are not re-
ceiving enough brain work. That
there are too many fads in the
schools. And unfortunately there is
too much room for both these criti-
cisms. The mossback teaching Of a
half century ago was an a~bomination.
Then the principal accomplishments
of a successful teacher were good
muscle and small brains. The mus
Gle to be used in administering the
usual inducement to study. The
brains to teach the three RS, the latter
Of which stopped at the "single rule
of three Later we had the plan Of
severe mental work as the only pass
port to scholarship. While that
system was in vogue, scholars We're
made, not book parrots who had
SKINNED half a hundred different
texts and subjects and knew nothing
Of either, but scholars, and thinkers,
men of original power and mind.
But a certain class Of young men who
possessed. a considerable quantity. of
dollars, and a small quantity of
sense, demanded to be graduated on
what they had in their pockets in
stead of what they had in their heads,
and this influence was allowed to in
fuence the whole system of American
education until it reached the common
schools, and the courses were reduced
to mere amusement schemes. We do
not want to be understood as opposing
the scientific methods employed by
the progressive teachers, for those are
the salvation Of the public school.
The teacher who knows the human
mind, and the methods of developing
it's several faculties and teaches &C.
cording to these things is a genius.
The true teacher of today is as far
ahead of the old time schcolkeeper as
a modern binder is ahead Of the old
time reaping hook. This is not the
class we are criticising, but the IL
which attempts to educate the young
without study on the part Of the lat
ter is the n we mean. The fadists,
and "cure while you wait class
that are filling the minds Of the young
with a lot Of rubbish, without the
power to think, to reason, to apply.
Unless the pupil can do the latter, he
is not educated.
1t has been announced that the
cause of the wreck of the Wallce Bros.
show train and the consequent killing
of twenty-one persons, was the fault
of the engineer of the rear train.
With the meager facts sent over the
wire before us, we are unable to de-
eide with any degree Of certainty, but
inasmuch as the engineer of the rear
section was taking m chance in a
thousand of coming out Of the wreck
alive, and the natural instinct of
mankind is to preserve life, we are
of the opinion that he did what he
thought was best to avoid the acct
dent. Those wrecks are serious
things, and in this age Of immense
traffic every effort should be used to
avoid them. But the public should
not harshly criticise those who often
risk their own lives to save those of
the passengers. The man who stands
at the trottle of a locomotive b~avely
doing his duty in the face of death is
a hero. A greater hero than the man
who has Redeemed ths battlefields of a
nation with blood for his own ag-
grandisement. 1t is easy after an
accident happens, and when we have
days to consider what would be best,
to tell what should have been done.
But if it had been necessary to reach
that conclusion in as many seconds as
we usually take days, a different
course might have been selected.
Then. too, after those things happen,
it is a great deal easier to ascertain
how it could have been avoided. than
to prevent its occurrence. Not one
wilful death can be traced to a rail.
road man in accidents. They may
forget, they may fail to use the same
judgment that others looking calmly
from a distance would use, but they
are wilful Working in the
face of constant danger, they develop
the habit of caution. They run nc
needless risks. But with the immense
number of trains run by the modern
railroad daily, there would be dozens