Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-11-18


trading stamp company has itself or
ganized the rival stamp and started the
war that j might levy toll on both
| combatants While they tore at each
! others vitals in fierce trade fight. But
| the trading stamp is always short
| lived. Once ended II can never enter
| a town again except over the pros
trate forms of the merchants. Ii never
did a customer any very great good
and always cost the store keeper more
than his profits. 1t served but one
master, the trading stamp company,
and served him well.
PUBLIC SCHOOL REFORM.
1t is rather peculiar that the prop
osition for six year high school
course considered before an education
al conference of academies and high
| schools, meeting in Chicago, should
have been turned down by the argu-
| ments of the college presidents. Re-
furious to the small college. without
even protest from the friends of the
public school would seem very much
like legislating against "horse-hiding
school boys because it fatigues the
teacher.
The mere fact that proposition to
extend the public school work to in
clude the field of the college, should
come up for serious consideration is
deserving Of protest. If educators
seeking reform, would realize that out
of every 700 boys of school age in this
country. 600 never enter high school.
and only three complete the. present
high school course, they would turn
their attention to reforms that would
more effectually reach the greater num-
Der. Think of it! Six hundred out of
every 700 boys go to work in the fac
tories, offices or stores before they en-
ter high school and all but three go to
work before they complete high
school course of three or four years.
The Y. NJ. c. A. is the only body of
educators that seems TO have grasped
the true situation and the night schools
in the association buildings of the
cities are doing the work that our pub
lie schools neglect to do. When public
school educators or educational con-
ferences learn the truth as the Y. NJ.
C. A. has seen it time will be devoted
to education of the masses for the du-
ties of citizenship, rather than Pre- par
has been gained, We will see the publ
schools holding evening sessions, con-
Quoting manual training classes, estab-
fishing political science lecture courses
for the hundreds of young men and
women who are in the same need of
education as those in the day schools,
but must work for their living.
A former editor of the T.-R. once
went abroad as United States consul to
EuS!GHl.- w 4ttil lie iClutilc0 Liz
OF ali his conversation, both public and
private, upon the causes for Americas
seeming supremacy over British pro-
gress in everything, was The Little
Schoolroom on the HILL The T--R-
well remembers a personal letter from
this foreign observer, at the time of 4
Cheese pairing platform in a certain
local school election campaign. in which
letter the newspaper man in England
grew Indignant that people in the Unit
ed States should want to cut down
their school bills. Cut your cigars,
your theatres, your groceries, IL neces-
sary.' he urged, but don't skimp your
schools. They are the one Institution
that made America"
This man was In position to make
comparison, and he talked more urgent
ly because his vision had been enlarged.
II he We're to discuss the nigh school
problem before q conference" OF edu
Gators. the presumption is that he
would call loudly for the same increas-
ed public school expenditure as a six
year high school course would require,
but he would spend 1t on the 500 in
stead OF the 100. He would educate the
greatest number and leave the small
colleges to prepare the few for pro-
fesional schools. He would attempt to
cultivate q correct theory OF govern.
ment and of state, in the mind of the
boy who will become mechanic to-
morrow ana q word politician the
day afterward. He would teach more |
history and less calculus, more language
and less latin, some mechanics and |
little German. If anything needed to
be done to the high school he'd cut off |
a year to use the money elsewhere.
rather than add three for the benefit |
Of three boys out of 700. Studied from
the view point abroad. the American
public school system would unfold its |
and its possibilities In a
light that seems to have stopped with |
the Christian workers of the Y. NJ. c.
A., and failed to reveal itself to the
educators of our conference"
Thankfuiness Of Deeds.