New-York tribune., 1907-08-11
Education by Monuments.
Manner of Enlisht
enine he
ening the Young.

II would never do 10 mention the great critics
game here. but you may take il fact that
there Is great critic. known 70 all magazine
reading Englishmen and admired for his genius
as universal commentator, who has had truly
r-esf idea on the much vexed question Of ele-
-,entary education Like all truly great critics.
this one would certainly dislike notoriety. so we
shan let him remain in oblivion here, trusting that
rome Gay not too far of you may learn more about
r,-, through the channel he would have you use,
namely monument For this genius's idea itself
demands in all consistency that his name and eZ-
ploirs be not mentioned here in vulgar. futile.
wearisorae printers ink; the genius is bitterly
fighting the current method Of acquiring informa-
ZION from papers and dusty In recent en-
terrzaning essay, which somewhat inconsistently
sppegred in z printed magazine our reformer ex-
pressed MS WEAKNESS with the endless stream
Of novels journals and most Of all. public libraries
asV-hv cannot our phflanthropists and government
o<hcisls'' he cried. spend their huge sums IN
erecting monuments and statues instead OF IN
building Libraries and reading rooms? 1t is far
better for educational purposes TO erect a sta1ue
that teaches the lesson Of great mans life than
Il is 70 buy lot OF books which children must
wear their eyes out and develop round shoulders
BY its act-activeness and its continual presence
monument z far better educator than q scnool-
house or a library Therefore. let benefactors-
public and private, I'll all the squares with marble
and granite reminders Of great deeds ana great
needs"
rs This not a beautiful thought7 II you not
.p-e lust run over in your mind the changes it
will work in the outward appearance Of our COM
-nunsties Consider the social revolution II VIII
p-ecipirate. wfping out many ancient evils al a
blow Sermons In stones there have long oeer aIo
most people have preferred them 10 sermons In
rrpits; IL this preference rnanifests itself consist
eor1v nav we not hope for the dawning of the
Golden age when education in all its oranches Is
tns1illed by bass-relefs, obehsks, perlstyles shu
-orrlh.tones7 The chalky schoolroon VIII pass
away yielding place 10 a series OF monuments
placed artisticaIly in many public squares ana CIV
ing lessons silently IN various branches OF the
Tree Of knowledge Little Jnnmy-your GRANDSON
little boy-zviI arise when he pleases, urged on 10
hutton his shoes aHry by peTsistently changing
school bell akfasting al leisure, the promising
six-year-old VIII gaze out through the dining room
vrfr5ozrs ar z modest beautifully shaped ano
ratte-ned monument Of simple sandstone on Whlch
ara inscribed the alphabet and the multiplication
rable up 70 z X T. Lost in contemplation OF TINS
fair structure. little Jimmy unconsciously ansorns
his c along with his oatmeal. 10 the huge SAT
ss1acrion Of HIS overness. who knows that Jimmy
aptness viii let her keep date LhaL iII' dItsI mo
with the butler in the next block The multphca-
ton table comes harder; but the curious and artls
tic characters representing the muiupncaho anu
-nltiplter finally succeed in iTnpressng the whole
arfthrnetical scheme upon the young scholar VINO
rlshes hilariously .ntO the kitchen after the meal q!
over and computes the famiys weekly grocery p4Al
800 Son +fe soverness takes little Jimmy for
q stroll through the schoolless streets. pretty
little park ueeks the first corner, and there
the Juvenile learner gazes in rapture upon the eN
ouisite Geography Monument. presented 10 the CITY
by wealthy widow who had never 1orgotIeh HeI ~ l
schoolday trials trying TO learn Wnere the
Tz1aO Sea q z
r. blue ink This Geography doIuhl y
prodigious affair containing hundreds OF statues
busts and bass-reliefs illustrating Malays lndIah
tornahawks, the principal products OF milwaukee,
rteamship routes the temperature Of the Arabian
Desert and the population Of Johannesburg in losZ
All these are grouped under their proper continents
N. Iar.er heinp portrayed by heroic statues Ike
those on the new New York Custom House the
lesser deIies-to wit the countries OF the Various
coutinents-a-e also personiled in marble and stand
over the sections Of the monument representing
their various pecularities and possessions. AS
there is a fine playground around the base OF thls
monument fun Of swings and SAND heaps' seos
rzphy is perhaps the best mastered subject OF the
Golden Age in this particular town Jimmy .l coii
home every noon with new stories about irli'0@u u
and Beloochstan: and he has learned them al
while playing one-old-cat and leap frog.
Jirnny's older brother is equally fortunate ne
is taxing in the College Course Monuments. which
situated a distant part OF town Ihey TOO
are contrived TO lure the observer into ways Il
knovlesVe TriRononnetry and calculus peristyles
contain beautifully chiseled theorems and dla-
grams triangIes involutes, while the fashion
Illustrated are worked into a Byzantine frfeze is
simply enrrancfng The Economics Monument N
Sinrny's town is noted the world over Tor the
wonderfully realistic bass-relieT tbroHze' '
by the famous artist OToole) stating and dispfoVl
Nalthas's law Of population Hardly less famous
are the three groups OF statuafy on the osI y SI-S
Of the monument demonstrating the Law OF Limih-
ishtng Returns; the figures OF the workingInen ana
their employer all OF which appear In each group
teach the whole lesson BY their pose and facial
expressions Jlrnmy's brother is most imIfessed
WITH the gum look on the employer taoe IA , ti'',
narrow profits OF his newly opened Western pranch
The young cofegian feels sure that ne VIII Ds
abe 10 carve in marble granite many IesTheo
d.suujsstsons on higher economic problems, so
thoroughly has he mastered the pflnclpes "i tii9
scsence and the facts through TINS ioEeiy ihonu-
rer. Fo- s.ss doctors thesis he hopes TO take the
Intricate subject railway rate regulation anu 10
prove i-refufably in a series Of twelve symbonc
groups (without pedestalsb the dangers % pre , 10
Ing fat rate for bulk commodities on trunk ilhes
J.rnmy's sister though has been having a hafu
rev 10 hoe all this time Beng nuslcsiiy lhcliiu
t4er
violin. and the time 10 study tfss scIehoe
Of harmony. the authorities would mol toiefat"
the use of ey.-wrecline books, the young iaoy mas
been long struggling in vain 10 grasp the fheory oi
Canon and Counfe-point by contemplating the
Music Monument down the street. She does not
poesess q very quick mind. may be seen frora
TIE fact that for six years she has been tyihS
without SUCCESS 10 learn The technique Of IEchal-
kowskyss Pathetic Symphony from the Tscliai-
koxGky Yr1eze the monument And her COUSIN
has had dfhcuty il learning how TO sing
kkS souxs OF Bra1ua But then. you know. even In