The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-04-17

If conditions are favorable to invest
in a home. He will enter town and
quietly proceed to look about He
will look to the climate and natural
resources. But he will also say to
himself What sort of people am /
bringing my family among? What
kind of homes have they? What
sort of town have they? Can | safe
ly rear my boys and girls in this
community? Will lthey have the ed
ucational and cultural advantages
that they could get elsewhere?"
He will count the schools,
churches and saloons and compare
the number of each. He will go
down the side streets and observe
the private dwellings. He will visit
the homes If possible. He will OBJ
serve the yards and the sidewalks
He knows no one. He must judge by
appearances If conditions in the
town and country meet with his ap-
proval, he sends for his family, es-
-tablishes a home and becomes a
permanent citizen. If not, he moves
on.
Which type do we wish to come
into our little Idaho towns and set
tie? If we want the wagon tramp all
we have to do Is to let matters go
and see nothing and do nothing,
toward making our town pleasing.
Such a course is easy. 1t is hard to
be public spirited sometimes. If we
want the other type, the man of busi-
ness, the man of means, the man of
education and culture, we must do
something to our premises. We must
see that some of the weeds and trash
in our plots and streets are burned.
We must see that papers and rub
bish are kept out of our back al
leys. We must present better ap-
pearance. We must become little
more public-spirited.
How are we going to do 1T? The
little band of devoted women known
as the V. |. S., found in every village
cannot do all this, they cannot carry
the towns upon their shoulders.
Neither can the mayor of village
appoint committee to go about and
lell the people that it Would be
much nicer if they would keep fow-
ers in their front yards instead of
weeds. The householders would no
doubt answer the committee in the
Biblical words, What is that to
thee?" 1t is very difficult to per-
suade an individual, who has grown
accustomed to seeing the street lined
with sage brush and clumps of white
clover, into the belief that those
same streets would be much improv-
ed by the removal of sucn accessor-
les.
We must turn then to the children
and educate them into the belief that
they must labor, not only for them
selves, but also for the community
in which they live. The father and
mother are usually too busy to give
this task much attention in the home
and so it falls to the school and the
teacher.
There are various ways of inculat-
ing the principle to be taught. There
are primarily two methods which
may be designated as e. the telling
method, and CD the doing method.
BY the first, the teacher may lee
ture to her pupils on the benefits of
shady, clean streets and cultivated
home gardens. She may show them
pictures of improved cities and COM
pare these cities with the children's s
own little town. But unfortunately
the results of following this method
are seldom satisfactory. 1t is some
what like trying to teach the evils
of the use of alcoholic liquors by
the lecture. No person was ever pre-
vented from using alcoholic spirits
by teacher telling him that he must
not Neither are many children
moved to rake off the streets by the
teacher saying that it would be bet
| ter to do so. At the best the children
will but come to recognize the evil
without receiving the knowledge OF
how to successfully combat it.
Children are possessed of an in
finite amount of the you'll have to
show me" spirit, and the best way
to drive home a lesson Is to have
them obtain in practical results, the
how and why of the lesson. AS re-
CARDS the lesson in home and village
beautifying, the child should actual
| ly do something to beautify the
home and town.
This work of doing" can best be
gin with and follow school garden
ing. In his garden the child /!
taught by experience that he mus
keep his plot of ground and section
of the path clean and well cultivated
He is taught the value of this In dol
lars and cents. 1t also becomes
matter of pride with him. A stel
farther is taken and the genera
school yard is cleaned and trees ant
flowers planted.
! Through imitation the school doe
the same thing at home, even thougl
. he live in a rented house. He get
; some poplar switches and plant
along by the fence. He trains som
vines over the porch and establishe
: flower or vegetable garden wher
. the weeds once flourished. The sis
ter inside the house catches the sug
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