The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1909-02-12
Iappan School Pupil Best Ap-
plies Life of Lincoln TO
Present-Day Problems

The Times presents herewith the
FIRST four OF the eight essays or Lin
coin which the judges decided are
entitled TO prizes in the contest just
closed
In view OF the fact that only two
weeks elapsed from the announcement
of the contest 10 it's close. the inter
est shown was remarkable. More
than 500 essays were submitted.
As the number OF prizes was limit
ed 10 eight. IL necessarily follows that
several hundreds OF The Times little
friends must be disappointed Most
OF these have only themselves 10
blame. however. as they failed To com.
ply with the conditions specifically SET
forth In the announcement and print
ed In conspicuous position daily.
while the contest was on.
IL was stated very clearly. for ex-
ample. that the essays should not ex.
ceed 700 words and should be written
in ink on one side of the paper only.
Nothing could be palmer, yet any
number OF contestants wholly ignored
these conditions and their efforts were
wasted And, though the fact was en-
phasized. that only the pupils OF De-
troit schools were eligible TO com
pete, many were the contributions
from school children outside the city.
Splendid efforts, too, some OF them.
and here and there prize winner
had the writer been eligible. but, in
fairness to the Detroit boys and girls
who labored faithfully and complied
with the conditions, all these had 10
be disregarded.
The great mistake made by a ma
tority of The competitors was their
failure TO apply Lincoln's methods and
teachings to the national problem OF
today. This was a fatal omission. for
The Times sought to make clear from
the outset that ESSAYS would be judg-
ed largely on the intelligence display
ed In the handling of this phase OF
the subject Notwithstanding the adj
monition. the tendency was 10 dwell
more particularly on Lincolns career,
while in scores Of cases the more i'm
portant feature, for the purposes OF
the contest, was ignored altogether.
Yet none has labored in vain. II
should he a source OF no little pride
and satisfaction To the teachers and
parents interested to know that there
was hardly an essay, out or the vast
number submitted, that did not pos
scss some merit while the unsuccess-
ful competitors have been rewarded III
some measure By an increased knowl-
edge. better understanding. broad
er conception of the life and charac-
ter OF one OF the world greatest men.
In securing material for their com
positions they have delved deep, not
only into I.incolns career but into the
history OF the United States at one OF
It's most important periods, and the
educational value OF the knowledge
thus gained is great advantage TO
those who participated in this contest,
even though they failed to win a
prize.
The Times feels called upon TO pay
special compliment TO the pupils and
teachers Of ST. Vincent's academy for
the unusual interest manifested. From
this school alone came no less than
40 essays All showed careful study
and preparation The writer's. however.
In applying Lincon's methods. To pres
ent day conditions, all followed much
the same line OF thought. Thus, IN
passing Judgment on these essays
the question was TO select the one es-
saw from this school which showed the
keenest insight and the most intelli-