The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-02-16
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THE LAST CASE OF
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
By I. E. c. ROBBINS.

@ @ and white that morning as
n he sat dividing his atten-
7ESS ton between his breakfast
and the morning paper, and apparently
getting little satisfaction from either.
We'll it seems that they have done
itH' he broke out, at last.
WHO have done what, papa?' asked
his daughter Minnie.
For answer Mr.. ellison read aloud,
in tone of deep disgust, paragraph
from the report of the school committee
meeting Of the night before:
After considerable discussion, the
committee voted to adopt the rule,
which had been introduced at the last
meeting and laid upon the table, pro-
hibiting corporal punishment in the
schools of this city,"
ooh, well, / wouldn't worry about
it." said his wife, soothingly you'll
get along somehow. There must be
other ways Of governing a school,"
"Of course there are other ways, and
I have used them. l hope you don't
think that | have been carrying on
my school by brute force. The fact is,
] don't need the rod but once in
while a boy does. 1t may save him
from something worse. Why. looking
back over my experience of thirty
years in the Cushnoc Grammar
School, / can recall case after case
where a good whipping has worked
wonders. For instance, when the pres
ent mayor of this city was in
school"
Come, my dear, your breakfast is
getting cold" interrupted Mrs. ellison.
'"fhe truth is he resumed after a
few minutes silence, "ths thing is
aimed at me. They think l am old
and fogy and they want to get rid of
me. Wen, perhaps they had better
have their way" and Mr.. ellison rose
sloomily from the table and prepared
% so to his school
II think that those committeeman are
asst as mean as they can bel! declared
Minnie, when her father had left the
house. "Old-fashioned or not, papa is
&c best teacher that Cushnoc ever
I'D, or is likely to have, and they
ught to appreciate him."
Your father wouldn't take things
heaFt so If he were WELL" said her
other. %"rhat grippe is hanging round
m yet, and he really isn't fit to be in
hool. No wonder he looks on the
TX side OF everything"
MIR. ellison certainly looked on the
lrk side of school life that day. Right
his own room of ninth grade pupils
Iere seemed to be a conspiracy to set
defiance all the traditions of good
)yernment that had grown up there
for years And for once in his life the
master could n0t cope with the situa-
ton.
II suppose they are celebrating the
abolition of corporal punishment" he
said to himself. "They may be Il little
premature, for / have received no nc.
tice of the committees action. But /
never yet punished a pupil because I
didn't know what else to do, and
shall hardly begin to-day. If l didn't
feel so weak, and If my head wouldn't
ache So l could bring order out of this
chaos in two minutes.
Master Parker l am surprised at
you" he said, aloud.
There was occasion for surprise, for
no one could remember when Guy
Parker had been spoken to before by
way of rebuke. Out of school Guy was
brmful Of fun and greatly liked by his
mates. In school he was "a perfect
gentleman" as Mr. ellison had more
than once assured Guys father, the
chairman of the school committee.
But to-day Guy seemed to be tamper-
ing with his reputation as the best boy
in school.
Master Parker, that is the third
time that l have seen you pass a note,
said Mr. ellison, Sternly 1T must not
happen again. And with patience al
most exhausted he turned his attention
to a division that was making sorry
work of a reading lesson
you don't know what an anodyne
is?' he said, sharply, to the overgrown
boy who just then had the floor.
Haven't / told you always to look up
the meaning of words before you come
to the recitation?'
Il did look it up, but I forgot. Oh,
/ remember now! Its something to a
sausage pan"
what do You mean by that, STRIP
Numbered the teacher, while another
giggle went round the room.
"That is what the book says, any
way" muttered the boy, producing his
pocket dictionary Then, after a more
careful scrutiny, he fastened to correct
himself: No, I meant it's something to
assuage pain"
"That will do. You may be seated"
said Mr.. ellison, in no mood to join in