The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-12-28

school, all the FACTORS sof justice and
Of the L5rd-tRe Kingdoms Of heaven
represented before him in living forms
the whole drama of IAN ideal human
society lplayed out before him, with
himself as one of the actors. He sees
book after book, to be swallowed at
the dictates OF an ubiquitous combina-
ton Of capital g, and legislative stupidity;
book after books row after row Of bare
here and there a flag drill; here and
there patriotic song or picture to
keep his starving soul alive! We must
give him the right to be heard in his
own. defense7-not. the personal privilege
merely, granted by kind teacher or
principal, but the, right to explain how
tho case looks to him. We must re-
store his bodily freedom, and not leave
him cramped for room and air, because
we are. under some sort of Ubiquitous
obligation to put fifty or sixty Of him
into one room. We must be careful
that, with. our American genius for or
ganization, we do not crush him be-
meath a too-perfect system, making Of
our public schools a sort of heartless,
inhuman educational corporation. And,
above all, we must deliver him. and
that speedily, from that overcrowding
of his mind and memory which we now
PERFORM
'"What we need is not SO much a new
organization of teachers as a new spirit
In those that we have-a spirit of gen
uine democracy, not Of delegated au-
thority and hierarchies, a spirit Of free
dom, Of liberation for all forms Of
truth. Above all, we need spirit Of
genuine childlikeness, making us will
ing to follow the little children whose
interests alone bring the schools into
existence; and humbly to endeavor, BY
our lives lived before them, to persuade
those children to- enter clean hearted
and clear drained upon the larger but
similar duties OF a Citizen Of the state. -
Head Of the Women's Clubs.
Mrs. +: =. Washburn of Duluth, presi,
dent of the State Federation Of -Wo-
men IS cl ubs,s speaking of the home in
hnence, found reason for an ardent op-
timism, altho she saw ways in which
the home has failed to perform its
function '!There has been great
cha ehap p, IN r. regard to the importance Of
cation" she said, Gas the home has
become less isolated, social life and city
life have usurpeds the tremendous infu-
ence formerly exerted by the home. The
home Is the most important influence,
however, and: it is the home which
makes or mars q country" Mrs. Wash
burn dwelt at length on the rights Of
children and asserted that the first
right was that. of being well born.
"There is great necessity the
speaker asserted, 3" for greater thought
upon this matter among the people who
marry. There is an increasing sinned-
against company. There is the neces-
sity for people to consider any form of
degeneracy which may be in the blood,
before assuming the responsibilities Of
s The ideals put In practice by the
founders of the home are the most pow
.erful, in the opinion Of Mrs. Wash
burn, and much more affectual than
those taught by precept. She laid
great stress upon parental honesty in
word, act, intent and purpose. "Were
the child always to see. absolute hon.
estY, dishonesty, even in the attractive
form of graft, would make no appeal
to the Child she said. "The ,respon-
ss $ Of preparation for life rests in
Miss Lenora M. Lake Of st. Louis
vice president Of the Catholic Total
Abstinence Union, followed, with an
a Factor in the; Child's Development. .