The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-11-21
TEACHERS
ASSEMBLE
Ii the Maple Avenue School
Chapel and Discuss Edu-
cational Matters.
VIEWS OF PROFESSOR JOHNSON

The Morris County Teachers Asso-
citation met in the chapel Of the Maple
avenue school last Saturday with the
Yice-president, M. X. Green, Of Rock
away, presiding. The exercises were
opened with devotional exercises led
BY Superintendent Haven, after which
there was a contralto solo by Miss
Temby, Of Dover.
The speaker of the morning was
Professor Alexander johnson, Of New
York. He declared that there is a
new philosophy in formation based on
the onditionsof prosperity rather than
former oonditions: 1t is getting to be-
believed more and more that the ir-l
dfvidual is Only part Of the great
social organism and with this belief is1
coming d greater social consciousness,
which the teacher must spread and
explain, for the teacher is the only
person who comes in contact with all
the people in the formative period OF
life. he should inculate right views
Of the social relations. Suffering
should be regarded as an anomaly and
should eyince surprise.
So with the advance Of science the
right appreciation Of which can only
come through the child. The man
over twenty-five rarely appreciates
scientific advance. With this advance
in social consciousness comes new
laws, while old vices will appear only
as trivial Punctuality is one of the
new virtues and the man who keeps
another waiting for him will be re-
garded as a thief. Inefficiency will be
crime and the person who attempts
to administer that about which he is
not informed will be called to account.
So will the person or company which
allows noxiouS vaporS to come from a.
factory to the detriment of the gem
eral health be regarded as criminal.
Our ideas OF thief are pretty well
fixed, but the speaker said the CRATER
was to Be included in the list on a
;s,.le-ger plane than the man who hits
with the sandbag. then robs an in.
diyiduaA, as he robs all the people.
MT. johnson referred particularly to.
three phases of the social conditions
all Of which bear close relation to-
each other and are intimately con-
nected with the problems Of the crim-
inal and poor. These were child labor,
wherein he found that society is
robbed for the benefit of those mean
enough to exploit child's labor and
{ ruin his body. First of all, declared
the speaker, is the animal Keep that
healthy and you can built intellect,
etc. Tuberculosis he declared, is cur
able though it carries off larger pro-
portion of our citizens under thirty
five years than any other disease. His
third was the sweat shop and its evils,
which he described His argument
for all, was the loss in dollars and
cents to the public in persons made
unproductiye by early hard work or
sweat shop conditions, by disease
which had not been prevented. All
these conditions are working out in
new laws, many Of them on the statue
books, but their meaning and the
meaning to the future of the republic
and individuals must be explained and
spread till the general public win not
support old conditions.
John S. Gibson was announced as
the afternoon speaker, but failed to
appear The time was occupied in
discussing English. G. D. Platt OPEN
ed the discussion, and was followed by
Superintendent Matthews and Princi-
pal Potter.
Mr.. Smith, principal Of the North
Bergen schools also rendered vocal
solos.