Omaha daily bee., 1910-07-06
DR.. BROWN ON SCHOOL WORK
Commissioner Outlines Plans Of Q, S.
Bureau Of Education.
: WILL GATHER INFORMATION
Data 80 60 Construetion Of BuildInEs,
Attendance, Trade Schools, Health
Of Pupils VIII ne Collected
and Compiled.

BOSTON, Mass. July b.-A brief outline
Of the course that will be pursued by the
United States bureau Of education in its
efforts TO promote education during the
coming year. and q tribute 20 the achieve
ments OF the late Or. William Terrey Har-
ris, formerly IN charge Of that work. were
the principal features Of an address BY DR..
Elmer E. Brown. the present commissioner
Of education, before the National Eduea-
ton association in this city today:
1t was an extraordinary legacy that was
left TO the bureau of education by Com
missioner william Torrey Harris" de-
olared Dr.. Brown. The present admins
trstion Of that office has no finer nor
higher responsibility than that Of maintain
ing at its best the spirit and that tradition
which constitute that legacy"
Dr. Brown referred TO the institution Of
q new division for the promotion Of meth
DDS OF school administration and also Of the
use Of specialists for improving the work
Of the lsnd-grant colleges as additions that
had been made to the activities OF the
service under him He pictured the edu-
catonal work being carried on In Alaska
the most extensive experiment Of that
kind in the world.
school Problems I'm Alaska.
Such q practice school persents the
white mans burden in its most conclste
form. with all OF the difficulties and al
Of the ispiring opportunities presented by
this world education movement Of our
time" he added. There in Alaska the
school physician and the school nurse are
now going up and down, helping the peo-
pie in their sickness and teaching them
how TO live clean and wholesome lives.
The girls are learning to cook and to sew
and to make good homes The boys are
learning to earn an honest livelihood un-
der their new conditions by new indus
trial pursuits. by the raising Of reindeer.
by improved fishing. gardening and the
use Of common tools. They are learn
ing something Of the white mans wis
dom and the white mans better aims in
life, which shall help them in their new
relations with the white man as their
neighbor and fellow laborer."
To extend the influence Of the bureau and
to strengthen it DR.. Brown said close CO.
operation had been arranged with the
library Of congress and with the bureau
of the census The latter bureau he said
/ is endeavoring to obtain more clearly uni
form and comparable statistics concerning
state and city systems Of education
We have now more reason than evel
before to hope that the reproach which has
lain against our school reports, that they
do not tell an ineligible tale. is soon Il
be thing Of the past" declared DR.. Brown
Improvement of Attendance.
Speaking of the functions of his bureau
DR.. Brown continued:
The Improvement OF school sttendanc,
must go hand in hand with the abatemen
OF child labor and numerous other under
takings for the general welfare of child
hood. 1t is the business of central offic
TO call repeated attention to these relation
ships and to help those who are at worl
in neighboring fields TO work together 70
their common ends.
We need to press home such informa
ton as viii lead TO the improvement O
school buildings In a country which
spending s73oOoOoO year for the construc
ton, equipment and repair of its building
for school purposes such information a