Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-16

keep up with their classes The only spe
cial thing thas.we ask for our children is
That tney1 may lhaye a seat where they can
see the teachers face in good light.
We have two cottages. each built to
Accommodate thirty children. and the chill
dren in each cottage are divided into three
Address Of Miss Williams.
Following the exhibition of speaking
by children to whom the world is only
vast silence came the address of Miss LII
lie Williams Of. Trenton, N. J. Miss Will
Jams addressed herself to the subject ''The
INTERPRETATION Of Home and School,"
Miss Williams thought the widespread be-
lief that home and school are two entirely
Independent things is working great deal
or harm to the children. She is of the
opinion it arises chiefly from the fact that
the average American parent does not rea-
Iize the great change which has taken
place IN recent years in the views and aims
Oh progressive teachers. I'VE have learn
ed to define education as the purpostve
modification of the various influences winch
AFFECT the growing child with the object of
securing the best development both of BODY
and mind she said. I'm this work school
ana home cooperate, and can no more
function independently without serious IN
jury to the children than could two sets or
scientists engage in an important expert
ment upon the same growing plants, work
without any agreement and cooperation,
and yet hope 20 reach satisfactory result.
Germ OF education is much the more inn
portant one Many things belong exclusive
ly to it; then there is large territory
which it shares with the SCHOOL, mean
| that of health and moralS-and even in that
! part of the work which at first view seems
| exclusively the province of the school, the
cooperation of the home is needed. We
| teachers know that the subjects in our
curricula not ends in themselves, but
| instruments to promote growth. We can
not do so simple a thing as teach child TO
| read and do the work economically and
well without being so in touch with his
| home as to understand fully all peculiarities
| of his sight. his hearing, his vocal APP
| paratus on the one hand; and on the other
his interests, his incentives to the use of
reading and the ends toward which 1t is to
tend.
''In fact educational progress has now
reached such a point that we may say that
| the chief obstacle which stands in the way
| Of further advance is the lack of co-opera-
| ton with the home.
In seeking TO realize our ideal it is at
once apparent that it cannot be done by
| the teacher visiting the homes of the chill
dren except in the case of small schools.
In the larger ones the mothers must come
to the teachers. The most effective plan
| thus far devised has been the mothers
meeting or tie mothers club held in the
school building
Last Nights Session.
The ceremonies of last night concluded a
| international day-with addresses by two
ambassadors and one foreign minister.
The principal address of the evening was
made by Sir Mortimer Durand, British am
bassador, on the Children of Great Brit
aim" He received an ovation as he was
presented by the president, Mrs Frederic
Schoff. After expressing the pleasure that
it gave him to address such a large as
sembly of American women, he commented
upon the fact that the welfare of children is
one of the noblest objects of the nation, and
it is above, all best that the mother should
take the lead. =
Your task is no easy one; but think of
what ours Isl The President of the United
States rules over perhaps 100000 900 of white
people and 20O00O00 of others. 1t is an
undivided, manageable country. With us 1t
is very different. The King of England
rules over smaller white population but
over a population of colored people that is
one-fifth OF the population of the world, and
a great responsibility. Only year ago he
sent his son, the heir to the throne, to the
outlying parts of the empire. The king is
true imperiaIist. He feels that the true
meaning of imperialism is the welfare of
all the people under his rule.
India Important Possession.
THE greatest and most important posses
sion over which he rules is, perhaps, India,
which is one-haIf the size of the United
States and contains 3OO0O0OOO inhabitants,
with at least twenty-three languages. each
spoken by over 100000 people, besides
many dialects. There are in India only
about $50 900 Englishmen. About $50 years
ago. when the English first got a firm foot
hold on the country. it was divided into
many hostile sections. Now 1t is peace from
the Himalaya to Cape Comorin."
The ambassador stated that the marriage
and caste laws of India are peculiar. A
large number of girls under the native rules
could not find husbands. This was a dis
grace, and many female children, Sir Nor
timer continued, were killed in infancy or
childhood. The ambassador asserted that
this custom has been to large extent put
down.
The ambassador spoke of the Indian GUS
tom of suffice, when women burn them
selves, leaving. their children behind. mo
woman now burns herself on the funeral
pyre,' said Sir Mortimer, "at her husbands
DEATH" Child marriages was the next sub
ject discussed by the representative of
Great Britain, who stated that Indian chill
dren are betrothed at the age of five or six
years and join their husbands when at ten
or eleven years of age. 1t is very difficult
to stop this custom, he continued, for the
people are very sensitive about any inter
ference with their customs.
II have heard it said and seen it stated
that England holds her posse ssions for her
own interests and by force" the ambassa-
dor continued. This is ridiculous, for the
power that upholds them is not force, but
Justice"
Sir Mortimer stated that the great danger
which threatens the empire is that of
physical deterioration of the race caused
by a tendency to turn from agricultural to
industrial employments. He spoke of the
many schemes that had been advanced to
solve this difficulty, among others that of
the garden cities and said that while Eng
land is threatened with great danger, he
believed that the English could solve the
problem.
II do not believe, continued the ambas
sador that the descendants of those who
have done so much for the world will be
allowed by God to degenerate into race
of weaklings.'
The German Ambassador
OF no less Importance and interest was
an address on THE Children of Ger
many" The German ambassador was UNI
able to be present, and sent as his personal
representative Herr Robert r. Scheller-
Schwartz second secretary OF the Ger
man embassy to make the address.
After confessing that he is a bachelor,
| the secretary stated that he, having had a
mother was SO enabled to judge from a
| child's standpoint the duties of mother.
| He spokes of the laws in Germany affect
| ing children otsthe school age, and said
| that it gave him great satisfaction to know