The Savannah morning news., 1903-09-27
INrEarPERATE INSTRUCTION.

induced by temperance agitators 10 in
clude in the curriculums of their pub
lie schools a system OF so-called tenn
perance instruction. Certain text books
have been adopted. and the teachers
are required TO instruct the pupils along
the lines laid down in them. \ commit
tee Of the Pennsylvania Medical Society
has during the past four years been
conducting an investigation into the
character of these text books. 1t has
examined lifty-four of them, out OF
which number il has found "a few
that are sane and good" but the
vast majority OF them are faulty, mis-
leading and untrue. The report Of the
committee says in part: We are sorry
10 be compelled TO say that the books
supervised by the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union Committee are the
most reprehensibIe."
The Medical Society's committee was
composed Of gentlemen of learning and
integrity. They entered upon their
task of investigation with a full knowl-
edge OF the evils of the abuse OF alcO-
holic beverages and an appreciation OF
the duty Of all good citizens TO work
for the abatement of the habit of
drunkenness. It is safe to say that
there is no class of persons in Penn
sylvania having the wellbeing Of the
people closer at heart than the medi-
cal men who made up that committee.
Yet these men were forced to say, with
all of the earnestness at their COM
mand, that much of the alleged temper
ance instruction given in the public
schools was worse than useless. They
have reported that under the name of
scientific temperance instruction" an
educational scheme that is neither
temperate nor scientific has been graft
ed on the public school system of near
ly all OF the states of the union; that,
without impugning the motives of
those who are responsible for it, they
have been the means of violating the
principles of sound pedagogy: that sys-
tematic instruction on the subject, even
if the instruction be sound and accu-
rate, is out of place where young chill
dren are concerned; that it is demoral-
izing to teachers and schools, and that
it is immoral to teach and to force
teachers to inculcate untruths. The
abuse Of alcohol, says the committee,
is a menace to civilization, but the
propagation of untruth is the wrong
way to combat the evil.
What is the effect Of teaching a
young child that alcohol is deadly
poison; that to take a drink of alco-
holic liquor is a sin, and that the per-
son who takes such a drink is, de-,
servedly, a social outcast? Why, the
child, if il has a normal degree of in
telligence, soon learns that the asser-
ton is false; and as a consequence
the child's respect for the teacher, for
the text book and for the school is
lowered. If they will tell me false
hoods about one thing" argues the
child to itself, they will deceive me
in other things" And it is notorious
ly a fact that many of the state
ments embodied in the alleged scientific
temperance instruction are unscientific
and untrue. Numbers of superintend-
ents and teachers object to giving such
instruction, knowing it to be false and
harmful; but when a weakened or
ignorant Legislature or other govern
ing body has made such temperance
course mandatory, what are the teach
ers to do? They can only obey or
ders. no matter how distasteful they
may be.
The proper function of the common
school is to give the child a sound ele-
mentary education. To accomplish this
every particle of the time of the cycle
of the common school is needed for
the essentials; the time is too short
for non essentials, and if such are
forced in, it is at the expense of the
childs elementary education. Yet there
are theorists, reformers and dreamers
who continually insist on adding more
and more non-essential studies to the
work of the common schools. Temper
ance is an excellent thing, and the
general principles of it may well enough
be taught at school. But it should be
borne in mind that temperance has ref
erence not solely to the drinking of al
coholic beverages, but to eating, speak
ing and acting as we'll.
There is no more persistent advocate
of temperance than this newspaper. For
years we have inveighed against the
drink habit, and have done whatever
lay in our power to check it. Yet we
believe, with the committee of the
Pennsylvania Medical Society, that the
propagation of falsehood is the wrong
way to cure the evil.