Cañon City record., 1909-05-06


documents of its kind. But the spirit
Of the recent years has been a spirit
that has sought not rights but duties;
that has asked not what do pos
sess? but what do / owe? 1t is this
very thing. this social spirit that is
being evidenced in our new educa-
tion'-the Industrial education, more
correctely named manual training. 1t
is this idea of duties that has brought
about our great institutions for scien-
tific research in medicine and sur
gerry. John Ruskin trumpeted the
message to this twentieth century.
that we are our brothers keepers.
fact in literature that Newell Dwight
Hills has expanded into a great lee
ture.
ture years is to be along social lines
for a period at least-there is a de-
mand that there be citizen factories
and such. just such are our public
schools.
We have a fraction of the youth
till they are past the age Of Elasticity.
We hold the key to the social develop
ment and to the character of our cit
izenship. Where else shall boys and
girls learn citizenship but in the
schools? know not how it appeals to
you, but l count myself highly for
tunate, to be in a place where an ex-
ceptional opportunity is afforded to
make citizenship rest less lightly on
our boys and girls of today and our
men and women of tomorrow; to be
able to put upon the young men in the
school sense of equality not in
knowledge but in responsibility under
this splendid American system of COM
mon government. If wars have been
useless in the past and are undesired
in the present, they have at least SER
we'd the purpose. often, of shaking
men out of sleeping. satisfied, pa
triotism, and charging them with
that is worthy the name OF devotion.
Some such great events as war seem
| to be needed among us. unless the
schools can plant the leaven in the
lump.
l have had occasion in my classes
in literature to mention several times
matters that concern us as Americans.
The immigration problem. the race
question, the growth of socialism
have never failed to unite the class
undoubtedly in its attention, and to
bring out the latent interest of the
pupils.
There are stirring forces at-Tork in
| our political fabric. and shadows of
| coming events can be seen through
the thin veil that keeps today apart
| from tomorrow. The preservation of
the sacredness of marriage and the
home; the settlement, or at least, the
adjustment of the race question as it
is concerned with both the black man
| and the yellow man in their relation
to US; the control of the mob; the ap-
palling political putrefaction IN our
ever growing cities; the question as
to who shall own the tools of produc-
tion-labor or capital or both; the
proper balancing of the power Of the
state and that of the federal govern
ment; the need of a deeper and truer
and less hypocritical patriotism-all
these are coming to your boys and
girls in the grades to settle. What fun
damental ideas of social duty, simple
and safe ideas, are you putting into
their minds? Are you doing anything?
Are you passing the responsibility on
to the High school, to have 1t in turn
passed on to the college?
There are several attitudes taken by
our schools toward free government
that I shall mention as having been
observed. No discussion; no remedies;
no criticisms are offered. You may
think about the statements. We are
sending pupils from schools governed
monarchically. into country gov
erned by its citizens; our schools
teach that tell-tale is an abomina-
ton, but our courts and all our Justice
is founded on the truthfuness and
complete response of the witness on
the stand; we wink at dishonesty in
preparation in the school because
boys will be boys and demand thor
ough preparation from our public
servants: we condone the occasional
pilfering of a restaurant by an en-
thusiastic crowd of 'rooters' and de-
mand honesty In business; we foster
class spirit In school and cry for a
PLY in this last respect we are making
advancement toward better attitude.
un,rJd that ~a oil rrpr1d uottz f,.